Naruto: Hankage (OLD VERSION)
by TheWriteFiction
Summary: It takes a lot to break someone. When Naruto reaches his breaking point after years of being picked on, ignored and left alone, he decides to change all of it. Instead of becoming the greatest Kage in history, he decides to become the world's greatest villain. [Original version][DISCONTINUED][Being Rewritten]
1. Prologue

**Author's Note:** I decided to reupload the original version of this story at the request of a few readers and fans. The previous version of this fic was _**Naruto: Reikage**_, but the latest version of this concept is **Naruto: Black Sun**.

The main reason I deleted the other two stories was while I thought I had something good going with the idea and had plotted out most of where I wanted to take the fic in the future, I realized I was using that exact same idea in _**Naruto: Maoyu**_, which is my superior Naruto story and the one I like the most so far.

A lot of people also didn't like too many OCs being thrown into a story at once (please don't comment about the OCs anymore, I'm aware of its failure as a concept), and that if I try to write a fic that deals with ideas outside of Naruto's lore, it kind of craps all over itself because it doesn't make sense due to all of the lore and rules established by the original author- whether they are good or just plain dumb.

It's what I find the most irritating about anime like **Naruto** and **Dragonball Z.** While there is tonnes of potential behind both stories- such as exploring other continents and myths or visiting other alien societies with powerful warriors- both authors make the retarded decision to cut the legs off of their story's potential by placing limitations on themselves or creating a ceiling within the story itself.

For example, at the end of Naruto when everything was coming to a head, Black Zetsu is revealed to be the main, big bad guy all along- that he was the main plot twist when Kishimoto couldn't figure out a way to kill Madara (when Kishimoto could've made the simple choice of NOT making Madara OP and broken AF) and that everything up until Kaguya's revival was done by HIS design. I mean, seriously? What a dumb, awful idea. What Zetsu basically implied the second it was revealed he was Kaguya's spawn is that everything in the Naruto Manga, aka shinobi history- from the warring clans period, the feud between the Senju and the Uchiha, the Akatsuki, to the shinobi world wars, to the Fourth Great Shinobi world war- was all done because HE manipulated all of these specific events in history just so he could revive Kaguya. I mean, really? Him? Talk about super convenient and not at all complicated. Not only that, but the introduction of the Otsutsuki and Kaguya in general, cheapens the concept of the shinobi in Naruto- as well as everybody's personal struggles within the story. All of the pain, misery, death, and hard work was meaningless, because everything was being manipulated by a little black mass of goo wanting to return to his mum's arm sleeve. The magic and mystery of where chakra all came from and how shinobi came to be was basically ruined within the Fourth Shinobi World War, because it turns out it was an alien responsible for everything. Ugh.

Sorry, the final arc in Naruto will always hold a special place in my heart as the worst arc in the entire series (yes, even worse than the Naruto filler arcs). Like how **The Last Jedi** ruined the future of Star Wars as a whole, so did the Fourth Shinobi World War for Naruto.

Whether you think these ideas or story points were good or not is your opinion entirely. Personally, in my opinion, I don't like the Otsutsuki, Madara or anything else that quote "breaks the game" unquote.

But hey, if the original author is allowed to introduce ridiculous concepts into his story and people buy it, then hell, why can't other fanfiction writers? I'm perfectly fine with reading other over the top fanfictions, because oftentimes other writers have much better ideas than the original author. Hell, there are people out there with much better ideas and have a far superior sense for storytelling than they or I do: DarkHeart, Jordinio, Kenchi, MysticSaiyan are just a few authors off the top of my head that I respect for their ideas and enjoy checking out from time to time.

Now I know a lot of you complain about me deleting stories or stopping them short before they can pick up momentum, but that's just me. Sometimes I get an idea and I just want to write it, but then I second guess myself a little later when I realize the idea has hit a dead end, the idea is dumb, or people just aren't interested in my ideas. I get that a lot these days when trying to write the "perfect story", but I just struggle to find that niche. _**Dragonball Z: Alter Age**_ is perhaps the only fic I've written where I realized, "hey… this concept is awesome", and I just can't stop writing chapters for it now.

So, for my future stories, I'm setting myself some ground rules. One: don't flood your shit with OCs and stupid ideas at the same time. Two: this rule is the same as the first one, just don't do it right at the start of your story.

I plan on writing fanfictions that'll stick closer to the original lore of the stories I'm writing them about, because I know people dislike or are afraid of change. Which is why _**Dragonball Z: Golden Age**_ has received a complete rerun, _**Naruto: Oni**_ had its last two chapters removed, and why THIS story- _Naruto: Hankage_\- is being rewritten as _**Naruto: Black Sun**_.

I'll leave this fic up because it's where I originally started the "Villain Naruto" series. Since I liked the Naruto vs Tobi fight in this, I'll leave it up here because it was just a very entertaining scene to write.

The whole idea with this fic series was to write a Naruto that was identical to Garou from One Punch Man, because Garou is clearly "best boy" of the series, just as Fubuki is confirmed "best girl." I plan on having Naruto in _Black Sun_ to be similar to this one- with the same fighting style and character, but with a story that focuses only on the lore within the Naruto anime. No major OCs at all, just the characters from the anime or manga.

* * *

**NARUTO**

_**Hankage**_

_Prologue_

(Five years after Kyuubi)

"Who wants to play ninja?"

"Oh! I do! I do!"

"Me too!"

"I want to play too guys!"

It was lunch time and, just like most days, there was a wild commotion going on over at the academy's playground. Gathered around the climbing sets and spider webs, a large group of kids- mostly boys- were currently gathered around their troop leader, who'd just popped the question as to who wanted to have a game of ninjas.

Obviously a majority of them wanted to take part and so, once a unanimous decision had been made, the youngsters began allocating roles and positions between one another. It was a clumsy start at first, what with them bickering over who wanted to play what ninja. But as soon as all the children knew who they were going to be imitating, they scattered and began to chase each other around the entire yard.

For the next several minutes after that, under the careful watch of their teacher Daikoku Funeno, the kids ran circles around the entire area. Sprinting across the bark, hopping over various obstacles and playground equipment, and even interrupting a couple of girls building castles in the sand pit, the boys had a ball as they pretended to clash kunai with one another and cast jutsu.

Them being so young of course, neither of them actually knew how to throw any 'fireballs' or 'earth walls' at each other just yet, so they just stuck with the basics of pretend play.

Eventually the game reached a point where one of the children, a popular Uchiha boy named Kaito, had one of his friends trapped against the rock climbing wall. With the other youngster's back to it, the adolescent prodigy advanced with his 'sword' drawn and ready to strike.

"Ha-ha! Surrender!" the boy chuckled.

The other boy with brown hair grinned back and formed a cross guard with his arms. "You can't touch me! Not when I have the First Hokage's _Mokuton_ (Wood Release) defending me!"

Kaito recoiled at the boy's declaration and glared. "Hey! You can't do that! That's cheating!"

"Na-ah. Not it isn't," the other boy stated. "It's my super-secret, special move! The best there is!"

"No one in this village uses that jutsu anymore!"

"Oh yeah. Well… someday _I_ will. I just have to practice."

"Ha. Yeah, right," Kaito replied, causing his friend to glower at him while he crossed his arms proudly. "If anyone is going to have amazing jutsu when they grow up, it's going to be _me_. I'll become an even better ninja than Sasuke's mum and dad."

Not exactly liking how the most popular boy in their group was taking this, the youngster with spiky brown hair and wearing the yellow T-shirt pouted and stood off of the wall. "This is getting boring. It's no fun when we don't have a real bad guy ninja in our group. Everybody here is playing a good guy." He said this while referring to the rest of their gang, who quickly approached the pair when they realized no one was chasing anyone anymore.

"Yeah," another boy in a white singlet, a buzz cut and a missing tooth spoke up as he looked between his friends. "Who can we get to play a bad guy?"

After looking over his troop for a moment and seeing no one wanted to volunteer, Kaito then looked over his shoulder and spotted a lone boy sitting on the swing set nearby all by himself and reading from a book. Being able to spot him due to the fact that nobody was in the same area as him, the young Uchiha with the spiky black hair grinned and nodded over to him.

"Hey. What about him?"

When his friends all looked to see who he was referring to, the brown haired Sarutobi boy who he was playing with before blinked. "Isn't he the new kid? The one our parents said not to go near? Naru-something."

"Naruto?"

"Yeah. That's it."

Seeing the blond boy with whiskers in the white shirt and orange shorts swinging back and forth on the seat, and completely engrossed in his picture book, he didn't seem like much at first glance. The fact that he didn't appear dangerous or intimidating in the least made him seem like an easy target to the boys, with Kaito giving a wicked smirk as a result and beckoning his friends to follow.

Soon the six or so boys had crossed the playground and quickly gathered around Naruto, who took a few moments to register to the fact that a couple of kids were in front of him. When he looked up, the blond blinked when he saw he was surrounded by a group of smiling boys from his class.

"Yo," Kaito greeted with a seemingly friendly wave and a kind grin.

Realizing that somebody was actually speaking to him, the previously distracted Naruto replied with a nervous nod. "Oh. H-Hi?"

"Do you want to play ninjas with us?" Kaito asked curiously. "You look a little lonely over here."

"Yeah. Join us," another of the boys in the group spoke. "It'll be fun."

"Uhh…" Naruto stuttered, obviously still surprised as his eyes darted between the kids. Eventually, after getting over the fact that he was being asked to join in for the first time, the whiskered youngster then broke out a smile and nodded. "O-Okay." He then closed his book and hopped off the swing, completely heedless of what the boys had in store for him. "So… how is this game supposed to be played?"

As Kaito led Naruto across the playground to the climbing set, he and his friends told the blond what they wanted him to do for them. "It's easy. It's like pretend chasey. First we pick a person to play the bad guy ninja… and then the rest of the good guy ninjas have to team up to fight him, with the Hokage in the lead."

Naruto, finding the concept behind this game to be quite exciting, gave the Uchiha a cheerful grin. "Alright. So… umm… who gets to be what? Can I be Hokage?" He asked his question with a hopeful look in his eyes.

"Oh. We've decided that you'll be playing the bad guy first," Kaito replied quickly, holding his hand out and stopping Naruto in the middle of playground area just in front of the spider net. "You stand right here. And don't move, okay. This is super important." When he saw the blond nod in understanding, he and his friends then scattered about the area, with the Uchiha quickly climbing up the spider net to the very top. Once he was positioned on its very peak, he stood up. "Alright! The game starts _now_!"

Before Naruto could ask what was going to happen or what he was supposed to do, he saw Kaito take a stance with his fist waving enthusiastically in the air.

"Ta-du-du-dum! After a long and tough battle with the enemy shinobi, it is now up to the amazing Fifth Hokage to step forward and save the day! Kaito Uchiha!" the child exclaimed, earning a round of cheers from his friends and drawing the attention of some of the other kids in the area. Naruto meanwhile just stared up at the raven haired boy as he then pointed down at him. "Prepare yourself, villain… for it is time for you to meet your maker!" Crouching low, the boy then leapt off of the spider web and dove down at the blond, grinning wildly. _**"Ninpo: Kyuto Kick!"**_ (Ninja Art: Soaring Kick)

Yelping in alarm, Naruto instinctively leapt to the side, avoiding the boy's kick as he then crashed into the floor with a loud 'thud'. When the cloud of dust settled, it revealed a now grounded Kaito sitting on the bark, a dazed look on his face and his shorts covered in dirt. As he sat up, he then gave a pained wince and looked down at his hand.

"Ouch."

When his friends approached, an observing Naruto stepped forward in worry. "S-Sorry. Are you okay, Kaito? Did you hurt yourself?"

Looking up at the blond, the Uchiha frowned. "I skinned my hand. Why did you dodge, you idiot?" He then stood up, stumbling slightly due to the rough landing. "That's not how the game works. You're supposed to be playing the bad guy. That means you're not allowed to move."

"Huh?" Naruto balked, staring at the now annoyed looking boy in confusion. "I can't move? That doesn't make any sense-"

"Hiko! Yochan! Hold onto him for a second!" Kaito shouted towards his friends.

"Okay," the brown haired Sarutobi responded, at the same time he and a second boy grabbed the blonde youngster's arms from either side and kept him in place.

As Naruto looked between the two youngsters in surprise, he then turned to Kaito to ask again what he'd done wrong. Surely there wasn't a problem with him moving to avoid another kid crashing into him, was there?

Unfortunately he never got a chance to make his inquiry, as the next thing he knew was feeling a heavy weight smash him in the face as the Uchiha raised his foot and kicked him squarely between the eyes.

The blond then dropped to the floor like a sack of flour, landing painfully on his rear and hands. Upon which he then looked up with a start to see Kaito standing there and grinning triumphantly.

"Attack successful!" the Uchiha laughed while puffing his chest out arrogantly. "Naruto _the Monster_ _Ninja_ has been crushed!" His announcement earned him a round of cheers and laughs from the rest of the children, all of whom obviously found the scene both epic and cool.

Blinking in a daze as he stared up at the prodigy and his compatriots, Naruto then felt something wet dribble down his lips and reached up to brush his mouth. He winced as he did so, pulling away to see that he had a bloody nose, which had been broken from the hit. Trembling when he realized he'd been hurt, the blond then looked up at the kids anxiously. "Hey. W-Why did you hit me so hard?"

By this point Kaito and his friends saw what'd happened, all of them looking down at the boy in momentary bewilderment. However, just as the children were trying to form some kind of reply, they were interrupted by the arrival of the yard teacher Daikoku, who'd rushed over when he noticed the commotion going on over by the spider web.

"Hey!" When the rotund Chunin with the beard arrived on the scene, he quickly looked from the standing group of boys to the fallen Naruto. Upon which he then placed his hands on his hips and frowned deeply. "Can one of you please explain to me what happened over here?" The entire playground remained silent, as it was obvious the man was taking this scene very seriously.

After Kaito and co looked between one another in momentary concern, the young Hiko then stepped forward and pointed down at Naruto, who was expecting the boy to clear up the situation and explain that he'd been kicked. However…

"Naruto tried to jump down from the top of the spider web. But he tripped and hurt himself."

The blonde's head snapped towards Hiko in alarm. "No I didn't!" The whisker-marked child then looked back at Daikoku. "That's not what happened, sensei! Kaito kicked me in the face while we were playing ninjas… on purpose!"

Glancing between the accused and the ones involved in the situation, the Chunin then focused his attention on the Uchiha and gave him a hard look over. "Is this true?"

Pausing for a moment to look at Naruto and then his friends, the Uchiha then put on his best innocent exterior and turned back to the teacher. "No, sir. Naruto fell over after he tried to jump and landed on his face. He got embarrassed and started blaming me."

"Yeah. It's true," another of his friends spoke up in support.

"That's what happened, sensei. We saw the whole thing."

"Naruto tripped over while we were playing ninja," came the voices of the rest of his companions, all of whom were quickly aligning themselves in defence of their best friend and leader. "That's the truth."

While Naruto looked between the boys in disbelief, a keenly listening Daikoku sighed and, reaching over, helped the blond to his feet. "You should really be more careful, Naruto-kun. Don't try to do things that you're not ready for, otherwise you'll end up hurting yourself." Upon setting the boy straight, he then checked the rest of his person for more bleeds. Luckily it was just his nose. "Try to keep both feet on the ground from now on, okay?"

"B-B-But…" the blond stammered, wanting to mount some sort of a defence to preserve his honour and explain what really happened, but was promptly shut down by the adult.

"No buts," Daikoku interrupted, pulling a facial tissue out of his pouch and handing it to the child. He then helped the boy bring it up to his nose to stop the haemorrhaging. "Now go up to the nurse's office so they can take a closer look at that… and make sure nothing is broken." He then instructed one of the nearby girls to escort the youngster, so that they didn't get lost.

And so, unable to get a word in, Naruto begun his walk back to the building. All the while he couldn't help but think to himself what the heck just happened and why things turned out the way they did.

Just when he thought he was starting to make friends, it turned out to be something else…

XXX

(A few weeks later)

A few days after the incident at the playground, Naruto had chosen to carry on with his schooling as per usual and to not pursue the issue. Figuring he couldn't really do anything about the kicking and convincing himself that the whole thing was just an accident, he elected not to get hung up over the game and instead went on to try and fit in with the rest of his peers.

Of course, due to the nature in which everybody was currently treating him, it wasn't exactly an easy endeavour.

It hadn't been long since Naruto had embarked upon his foundation year here at the academy- about two months at the most. When he started, the blond figured he was going to be getting a fresh start in life and a clean slate, believing he could actually find some friends here and children he could play with. Thus he entered the school on his first day with a big smile on his face and a spring in his step.

But, as he quickly found out after his first week, despite the incredible abundance of new faces and hours of play to be had during the working periods, every time Naruto attempted to approach the kids and ask if he could join in with them, they would either ignore him, tell him to go away, run off, or be dragged away by their teachers, parents or friends.

At first Naruto figured this was just a passing phase, as at one point he thought he was able to find a fast friendship with the boys Kiba, Shikamaru and Choji. They were a nice group and, after playing with them on the playground and in class, they'd really hit it off with each other. The three really enjoyed hanging out with the blond. But almost as soon as after meeting them, Naruto was told that their parents didn't want their kids hanging out with him anymore, and was essentially left out of their group.

This not only dampened Naruto's spirits during his free periods, but also made his time at the academy all the more disheartening.

And so the blond resigned himself to carrying on with his time at the academy alone and unnoticed, and for the most part kept to himself.

That was until Kaito and his band of friends started inviting him into their circle to play more 'ninja games' with them and, as Naruto was quick to discover, neither one of their games was cordial in the least.

Over the next couple of weeks since the first time they asked him to join in, Kaito or one of his companions would approach the blond orphan during free time under the pretext of talking to him or inviting him over for a different game. When Naruto either accepted or declined their request, he was then ambushed by the group of kids- all of whom were acting out the roles of 'Konoha ninja' while he was instantly slapped with the title of 'enemy ninja'- and was hence set upon by their squad. At first it started out as just good, old-fashioned child's play and teasing, with the kids dropping toys or shuriken-shaped paper on Naruto's head, or splashing him with paint or water, and proclaiming he'd been defeated.

But then, after the first dozen or so 'games', things started to get a little rougher and violent. Soon Naruto was being blind-sided by the gang almost every play period, with each time ending with the blond being outnumbered and ganged up on by the entire group. They even started hitting him from behind with their hands or toys when the teacher wasn't looking or out of the room, before finishing with the orphan somehow winding up on the ground with a new bump or bruise on his person.

On one end of the spectrum, Kaito and his friends thought this was very funny.

On the other end however, Naruto did not, and after several more days of being pushed around and knocked onto his backside by the gang of mischievous youngsters, the blond had had enough.

A loud clatter rang throughout the classroom as a table was suddenly flipped over. When the children in the room quickly looked across the way, they saw Naruto standing in the middle of the room, surrounded by ruined artwork, glaring across at Kaito and his group. The gang of youngsters were surrounding the blond and looking at him in surprise, while the spiky haired orphan was seething.

"Huh? What's going on?" one of the girls nearby asked. "Why are the boys fighting?"

"Did someone call a teacher?"

"Look! Naruto's started a fight!"

As the rest of the class started to gather around the scene and chatter with interest, Naruto continued to huff and glare across at Kaito angrily. Looking at his current state, the children noticed the blonde's shirt was a bit wet and so was the floor. This gave the indication that the boys surrounding his upturned table had once again splashed the kid with a cup of water, which was now lying empty on the floor alongside his ruined painting. This in turn triggered the blonde's anger and prompted him to knock both his chair and table onto their sides, as well as take a swing at the kid who threw the water at him.

Though he missed, his actions at the back of the classroom still caused quite a stir.

"What happened?" one of the girls asked one of Kaito's friends.

"We were just playing, but Naruto got mad," Hiko whispered back, finding the blonde's reaction to be quite scary. "He stood up and pushed his table over."

"Man. What's his problem?"

Taking a deep breath, the upset child with whiskers dusted his top and growled. "I… can't stand it anymore." He then pointed across at the Uchiha boy and bared his teeth at him. "Kaito! I demand a duel!"

In response, the raven haired youngster frowned in confusion. "Huh? What are you talking about, Naruto? We were just playing ninjas again-"

"That's the point!" the orphan shouted, clenching his fists tightly and focusing his ire on the boys around him. At the same time he became vaguely aware of the rest of the class gathering around them. "I don't want to play the bad guy ninja or the monster ninja anymore! It's not fun! I want to be the Hokage! Fight me and if I win, promise you won't bother me anymore!"

At first no one really said anything, as Kaito turned to his friends, who all whispered to each other over what Naruto was carrying on about. Eventually, after several moments of chattering amongst themselves, the band's leader then smirked and waved for his friends to come over. "Come on, guys. Get him!" In the blink of an eye, the boys behind Naruto suddenly grabbed his arms and pushed him over, shoving him into the carpet.

"HEY! That's not fair!" Naruto shouted, thrashing against the arms now attempting to restrain him as he was pushed to the floor. "LET ME GO! Ugh! Damn it!" Kicking and lashing out, the blond eventually managed to force the other kids to let go of him through brute force, and once again took a swing out at them. However, just as he was spinning around to take his anger out on Kaito, he ended up tripping over his chair and falling clumsily to the floor.

Yelping when he hit the carpet on his shoulder, the youngster looked up through squinted eyes. What he found staring back at him was the entirety of the class, their faces overshadowed and their eyes staring at him with mixtures of fear, amusement, distain and indifference. It was this combination of expressions that had Naruto freeze up, as he looked between the faces of his classmates in confusion and alarm.

In that moment, he heard them.

"Haha! Naruto fell over again!"

"He snapped. Call the teacher."

"Kaito! Run for it before he gets up!"

The echo of boys and girls voices speaking up all at once filled the room, making it incredibly difficult for Naruto to separate any of them. He didn't need to however, as he was able to hear every whisper and every word spoken around him, as he lay there on his back with his legs tangled with his upturned chair.

"What's going on?"

"Naruto thought he could do what he wants because Kaito asked him to play with him."

"Gross."

"Haha! Naruto got mad while they were playing a game!"

"What was he thinking?"

"He won't ever get to be Hokage if he acts like that."

"Poor Kaito."

"This is why Naruto doesn't have any friends."

That last statement had the blond youngster fall silent and his eyes, filled with embarrassment, remorse and hurt, gaze across the room vacuously. The familiar sensation of isolation, as well as the crushing pain of the entire world laying down all of its unfairness and injustice upon him, overwhelmed him and caused his eyes to tear up. Naruto then gritted his teeth and did his best to hold back the need to sob, lowering his head as a consequence.

Eventually the arrival of the teacher saved him from any further embarrassment, as he was then carted off to the headmaster's office.

OOO

"Why were you fighting?" the voice of the headmaster hit Naruto as the blond remained seated in front of the school's principal, his head held low in shame and his hands perched nervously on top of his lap.

With the two of them being the only ones in the room, it made the youngster's situation feel even more helpless and frightening than it already seemed. Understandably Naruto tried to ignore these oppressive sensations in order to save face, but was still unable to block out the voice of the school's chief administrator and overseer from scolding him for his supposed behaviour.

Mustering up whatever courage that he could, the orphan murmured. "It's because… Kaito and his friends are always-"

He was promptly cut off by the older man in the Chunin uniform speaking, "I heard you got mad while playing _ninjas_ in the classroom. Is that true?"

"Yes," Naruto replied, looking up towards the principal with a determined expression. Right now he wanted so badly to plead his case and profess his innocence, "But… the other kids always make me play the monster and never give me a chance to play the good guy!"

"Can't you tell the difference between games and reality?"

"Th-That's not it," Naruto stuttered, feeling like he was being stopped from actually explaining the situation. Considering the seriousness of the situation and how he'd tossed a table back in the classroom, obviously the teachers were very concerned. However, it wasn't just because of what he did that he was being reprimanded. No. There was something else. "Kaito's really popular and everybody believes what he says, so he tells everyone it's my fault. He's the one who splashed the water on my picture-"

"But everyone says you're the one who started the fight. A lot of your classmates got scared when you lashed out at them," the headmaster replied firmly, leaning forward and focusing his glare on the youngster, silencing him. "What if a student had gotten hurt? What if a window had been broken?"

Gritting his teeth and clenching his fists in his shorts, the blond snapped at the man. "YOU'RE NOT LISTENING!"

Ultimately, despite his best efforts, Naruto was sent home to the orphanage where he was then lectured to and reprimanded by the supervisor.

This pretty much ended in a very unfortunate and unpleasant day for the youngster.

XXX

(Two months later)

"_Who do you think you're trying to be? A hero?"_

"_You want to be Hokage someday? Ha!"_

"_People like you never become Hokage!"_

Eyes flickering open under the piercing glare of the midday sun, the miserable form of Naruto, wearing a blue shirt with an orange fire symbol on the front and green shorts, found himself lying sprawled out in the middle of the park, staring up at the clear blue sky. Feeling the numbness in his face and body slowly ebb away after several moments, the youngster then gave a pained groan when his brain finally registered to the fact that he was injured.

The reason as to why revealed itself shortly thereafter, as memories of his most recent encounter with the local kids started to come back to him.

Naruto remembered coming over to the park earlier that morning in a hopes of finding someone else to play with outside of the school and the orphanage. When he spotted a group of slightly older boys giving a young girl over by the sand pit a hard time, he stepped in to try and stop them. What followed from there was the blond proclaiming himself the next great Hokage, in which the youngsters laughed and insulted him. After Naruto punched the leader, knocked him to the ground and started to beat on him in retaliation, the other four adolescents tackled him away and began their assault.

Sure, little gutsy Naruto put up a good fight, using all of the anger and frustration he'd built up over the last several weeks to push him forward. He even managed to break one of the kids' noses and knock one of the others into a daze. But soon enough, the older kids managed to gain the upper hand. They surrounded him, pinned him to the ground, and pummelled him into submission, until the poor, lonely orphan was unable to move or fight back. The kids then laughed at him one last time, mocked his dreams of becoming Hokage, and left.

That was only a few minutes ago and, with the bullies no longer in the area, all Naruto was left with for his troubles was a thoroughly bruised body, a couple of cracked ribs, a throbbing headache, and a half-blind eye.

Needless to say, it was poor start to what the youngster guessed was going to be another wretched day.

"_Someone with no friends and no family will never become a great ninja."_

"_You're a loser."_

"_Why don't you just go away?"_

Naruto frowned to himself through his swollen cheek and eye as he replayed the memory of his beating at the hands of the delinquents in his head over and over again, as well as the scolding and vacant looks he received from the people he passed on the streets that morning. Seeing these images flicker in front of him for a full minute caused the orphan to instinctively clench his fists and stiffen his jaw angrily.

Upon letting his rage swell to the point of bursting, the boy then released it with a heavy hiss and a whimper, and shut his eyes tightly. He then turned his head into the dirt that he was lying in and muttered.

"I'm so weak… so pathetic," the child whispered as a crushing sense of defeat and powerlessness fell over him for what felt like the hundredth time in a row. Barely able to hold back his frustrations or his sadness, the child formed a fist and hit the ground. "I can't even fend for myself… and nobody in this village cares…"

The fact that not a single adult he could see walking on the street on the other side of the park were even bothering to come over and help was proof of that, and only served to upset the child even more. They just walked on, minding their own business and not even sparing him a single glimpse of concern or curiosity.

Even the adults that had been there at the time of the incident didn't care what'd happened and simply ignored the scene, while the parents took their children away for their own safety.

As the anxiety from these moments started to cut in deep and rattle his senses, Naruto felt a rush of hatred and rage envelop him.

He wanted to scream at the people. To cry out and curse at them. He even had the inclination to get up, run out onto the road, and attack all those blank and emotionless faces turning a cold shoulder on him. All his years of loneliness and not understanding what the hell made people hate and despise him so came bubbling to the surface, filling him with an outrageous feeling of ire. He just wanted to do something- _anything_\- to get them to look at him, to get them to acknowledge that he was there and that he existed. He wanted them to see that he was a human being, just like them, and not some monster they were trying to avoid.

However, thanks to the bruises he'd sustained, Naruto couldn't even muster the strength to budge an inch, and just lay there on the ground, staring off to the side with a dead look in his eyes as the rest of the world moved around him. It was like it didn't want anything to do with him.

While he lay there, overcome by grief and helplessness, the boy slowly reached into his shirt and pulled out a red pendant with the whirlpool symbol hanging from a string around his neck.

Even though he'd had this thing with him ever since he was born, he had no idea what it was or what it did. All he knew was that it was something precious to him, something he looked to for comfort, and was something that was familiar and close to his heart. So, after glancing down at the little amber-like gem glittering between his fingers, he then clutched it tightly in his palm and pulled it closer.

Naruto then lay there for what felt like hours, staring at the empty playground as the heat of the day continued to beat down on him and allowing his anger to peter out, and slowly transform into misery and regret. He ignored the sun that flashed him in the face from between the clouds and the flies that buzzed around him, like they were hovering over the body of a dead animal.

He may as well be dead for all he knew. Nobody wanted him. Hell, not even the caretakers or the children at the orphanage he stayed at cared if he was around. They treated him just like everybody else- with ignorance and displeasure.

"_You don't have any friends and nobody likes you. That makes you the bad guy."_

"_A bad guy will never become the village leader."_

His memories of Kaito and his friends resurfaced once again, playing back in his head like a horrible nightmare. Subsequently the blonde's expression steeled and his limbs shook. So overwhelmed by the absurdity of it all, Naruto did his best in recounting all the things he knew in an attempt to find an answer behind his endless suffering. It was the only thing he could do at this time.

"_Kaito is always smiling."_

"_Kaito is strong."_

"_Kaito loves picking on the weak."_

"_Kaito is loved by everyone."_

"_Kaito is an asshole."_

"_Kaito is popular."_

Naruto then began considering the inverse.

"_I'm always alone."_

"_I'm not strong."_

"_I hate people who pick on the weak."_

"_I have no friends."_

"_I have no family."_

"_I have no one."_

"_Everyone hates me."_

There was only one other person Naruto could relate to in regards to this comparison, and that was all the people in history who'd suffered at the hands of those who had everything: power, strength, friends, and fame. It was like the villains he read about in his story books at the orphanage, and how they were constantly being beaten by the main character who everybody adored.

At first he admired the heroes and wanted to become just like that. But when he realized that the characters all reflected the exact same traits of the people that picked on him, he quickly started to develop a dislike for them.

If there was anyone's struggles and pain he could really sympathize with, it was the poor sods who tried fighting against the world and those with power, but ended up going nowhere.

In that moment, the young but bright Naruto saw the overwhelming unfairness in the world through his encounters with the kids at school and his interactions with the people across the village. The idea that the well-liked and popular people always end up one-sidedly beating down on the weak and hated people, and always getting their way, just didn't seem right in the orphan's eyes at all. It was a dreadful and disgusting reality that always meant one person getting hurt while the victors basked in their success.

The hero- the strong- in every single story would always have the approval of those around them and inevitably rise to the top, while their opposites remain forgotten. It was a cycle that was repeated over and over again, both in fiction and in the real world.

After all, it wasn't the villains' faces carved into the side of the _Hokage Monument_. No. It was those who were loved and accepted by everyone.

"_Don't you know? The bad guy is always supposed to lose,"_ another boy's voice echoed in his head one last time.

"_So I'm a bad guy, huh?" _Naruto thought, his frustration festering for several moments until, from out of nowhere, he became struck by a sudden sense of realization. _"A… villain?" _Blinking as he gazed across the deserted playground for several moments, the youngster then rolled onto his side and, with a quiet groan, forced himself back to his feet. Swaying from the dizziness in his head and the bruise in his shin, the youngster stared at the climbing equipment with great intent.

After several moments of tense silence and hearing the birds chirping overhead, the child then looked down at the pendant he was still holding and contemplated over his collection of thoughts.

"People who are liked… the strongest, smartest, and most popular people… they always win," Naruto murmured to himself, his brain slowly turning his thoughts into words. "But the people who are hated… the ugly and weak bad guys… they always lose. They try so hard… and yet they always end up getting killed in every story." His eyes reflecting the light of his pendant, the blond then gave his reasoning one last go over, before allowing a big smile to spread across his lips. "If everyone wants a bad guy so much… fine."

All of this eventually led him to one last conclusion and, upon releasing the pendant from around his neck, the blond looked across the expanse of _Konohagakure_ and towards its most revered landmark. As soon as his eyes glued to the four faces watching over the community, the beaten and bruised blond raised a hand towards it and held it over the mountain.

"Popular guys winning and unpopular guys losing. That stupid story has been told a gazillion times already… and it's getting really boring."

With a determined grin appearing over his swollen lips, the blond then clenched his fist around the four Hokage heads and visually crushed them inside his palm in a malicious manner. In that very instant, his resolve was steeled and his eyes set on one goal.

"You'll see. From now on… I won't lose to anyone!" Naruto declared towards the monument and, to a greater extent, the entire village as a whole. In that instant, a dark shadow cast over his bright blue eyes, giving the child a much more fiendish appearance from before as he kept his gaze trained on his home's symbol of power and prestige. "I'll become the strongest villain… and change everything!"

**TO BE CONTINUED…**

* * *

**Author's Note:** This is a story I got inspired after reading Garou's backstory from _One Punch Man_, and decided that it would be awesome if I could somehow emulate this in a Naruto fanfiction. Garou is such a cool character, and I figured the best person who could reflect the same coolness would be our blond haired troublemaker.

It wasn't until I reread this whole story recently when I realized how stupid the idea was, which is the main reason I got rid of this in the first place. But some people liked it, so that's why I'm reposting this.


	2. Village Arc - The Anti-Ninja

**NARUTO**

_**Hankage**_

_The Anti-Ninja_

(Three months later)

It was lunch time over at _Konohagakure's_ shinobi academy and, as it was to be expected, it was a very active period for both the students and the teachers. In the foundations and junior primary areas of the playground, sandpit and pitch, the children could all be seen running around and having a good time, with each group enjoying a certain activity. So far there hadn't been any incidents or issues for the shinobi on duty to report and, as the hour ticked by, things were pretty peaceful.

However, across the field and behind the tree line, out of sight of the teachers and children, there sat a wide open grove with a bunch of tri-level, climbing and monkey bars set up in random spots across the clearing. This particular area was often used by the upper-primary and middle school physical education classes, where students were taken to practice their climbing and swinging skills in leading up to the more advanced levels of the shinobi curriculum.

During recess and lunch periods this area often remained empty. But today, as it had been for the last three months, it was currently being occupied by only one person.

This person happened to be the blond haired newcomer of the academy, Naruto Uzumaki, who was currently using the area for his own purposes.

Propped up the middle of the tri-level bars in a handstand position, his legs and body pointed straight up towards the sky, the youngster in the white shirt and green shorts was slowly pushing himself up and down at an agonizingly slow pace. At the same time sweat trickled down his face and his muscles trembled, all the while the child counted his reps through a low and hoarse voice, which clearly illustrated the amount of effort he was using.

"Eight-hundred and eighty-eight… eight-hundred and eighty-nine… eight-hundred and ninety…" Naruto hissed as he diligently powered through his workout, even though his body was telling him to quit. "Eight-hundred and… uhh…" Briefly forgetting the number he was supposed to say and stopping half-way through his rep, the adolescent quickly thought back through his basic counting skills, before breaking out a smirk and pushing on, "Ninety-one… eight-hundred and ninety-two…"

Despite being in such a precarious and potentially dangerous position, the adolescent wasn't terrified or shaken in the least. In fact, he was greatly enjoying the exercise he was doing. This gave indication to the fact that Naruto had been practicing this technique a lot in the last several weeks, to the point where he was now able to perform it repeatedly without fault or fail. This much was obvious from the number he'd already counted to.

Eventually, after reaching a thousand, the child then performed a gymnastic spin around the bar and hopped off, landing on the dirt gracefully. He then picked up his water bottle, took a swig, and moved over to the monkey bars to begin doing some chin-up exercises. When he was about to start said routine at end of the equipment, the bell to the end of lunch sounded, signalling for all the children to return to class.

Naruto ignored it however and, focusing on the bars in front of him, jumped up and took a hold of the first one. _"They won't care if I'm there or not,"_ the boy thought, knowing how his foundation teacher often forgot he was even there. So, deciding to give today's class a miss again, the child instead continued his workout, doing about fifty slow reps on the first bar before jumping to the another two-over, and repeating.

For the blond, he had better things to do than attend classes to learn about 'friendship', 'the days of the week' and 'finger painting'. He could do all that in his sleep.

Right now he had other more important things to do, like getting his body strong and flexible enough for the next level of training. Being so driven to pursue his dream was more than enough to push Naruto to improve and refine his skills, so that he could surpass his classmates as well as everybody else who was older and stronger than him.

You couldn't deny that the results of this kind of fortitude were definitely starting to show…

XXX

Though Naruto was trying his very best to keep his new training routine hidden from everybody in his class and at the orphanage, there were some days where he just couldn't help but exercise in full view of the villagers. For the people living in the neighbourhood near his orphanage, it soon became a common occurrence to see the youngster running down the road repeatedly over the course of an entire morning, doing parkour at the local reserve, or lugging a massive boulder about a few hundred kilograms up a hill over and over.

It was these types of cardio and strength-based workouts that were a little more difficult for the youngster to conceal from the rest of the village. However, for all the other exercises revolving around gymnastics, static strength-building, taijutsu and such, he could easily practice them out of sight of the public.

In the weeks to follow since the start of his intense, militarized training program, Naruto had also taken on board shurikenjutsu and implemented the study and practice into his daily routine. For the children coming from big wig clans and families within the village, acquiring the tools to conduct this branch of shinobi training was easy and didn't result in any issues.

Naruto however, being an orphan of only five years of age with no family or clan of his own, struggled to get his hands on any weapons he needed to practice with. Not only were the teachers reluctant to lend a bunch of dangerous ninja tools to a minor, they were also hesitant about loaning them out to someone with such a bad reputation. This was something that really annoyed the blond, but also encouraged him to think outside the box and discover different ways and means to practice.

As it turns out, the driven and sharp-minded youngster was able to come up with an appropriate resource in the form of rocks and pebbles. Able to function as incredibly versatile projectiles, as well as giving him a variety of odd and complex shapes to work with, Naruto was able to use the very environment itself to load himself up on tools from which he was able to train with.

Every time he wanted to practice his throwing, Naruto would find himself a quiet alleyway or a spot out in the park away from the village, and do some target practice by hocking rocks at various angles towards a number of strategically placed objects. These took the form of cans, discarded boxes with painted circles on them, pieces of tinfoil, and strings.

Whenever he wasn't doing strength exercises or taijutsu lessons, the determined orphan would work on his throwing arm. At first his technique started out stiff, clumsy, and his aim was all over the place. But in studying some of the books he was able to come across at the academy's resource centre, he was able to modify and correct the aim, distance, and trajectory of his throws.

Soon he was knocking over cans from an average distance of eighty to a hundred yards- a feat which was quite impressive for a junior primary student with a handful of pebbles.

However, it wasn't just distance and accuracy along a straight line Naruto was working on either.

On this particular day, the child had opted for a different kind of practice. Standing in the middle of a dingy alleyway surrounded by trash cans with random targets set up around him, the boy was not only working on trying to throw multiple rocks at the same time, but was also attempting to alter their trajectories by ricocheting them and bouncing off of stationary targets to hit another. This would then hopefully lead to him being able to bounce rocks off of airborne rocks.

Sure, it sounded simple in theory, but in reality it was ludicrously complicated.

Panting heavily as he stood in the middle of the walkway, covered in dirt and bruises, with a cut over his temple, Naruto then crossed his arm over and chucked the handful of pebbles he had in his hand outwards. The three rocks flew out, spinning on their respective axis to pelt three different targets down the alley. Spinning around, the blond grunted and chucked another pebble upwards, bouncing it off of trash can lid and up towards can, which he managed to knock over with a loud clatter.

Gritting his teeth, the child then reached into his shorts pocket and drew another two rocks, which he clenched between his fingers.

"Not enough," the boy breathed out, glancing over his shoulder towards another two targets spaced out in the narrow space. "Not good enough." With a yell, he turned and threw the rocks, watching them separate and strike their targets with two loud 'clap' sounds echoing down the walkway.

And so he kept on going, stopping every once in a while to reload…

XXX

(Several weeks later)

Pursuing a dream was one thing. Accomplishing it was another thing altogether.

Naruto however didn't care about the difficulties of the path he'd chosen. In fact, the child was determined to do everything he could in order to realize it- even pushing aside all childish and immature inhibitions that would otherwise interfere with his goals.

He learned early on that a smart person, as well as a strong person, had a better chance of surviving in the world than one who was ill-informed. So, during the times when he was not in school or training, Naruto was frequently visiting the village's central library so that he could learn about different ways of improving his training and about the greater world in general. If he was ever going to do anything of significance in the future, then he needed to cover all his bases, and make sure he had an understanding of everything going on around him.

In the last couple of months Naruto had not only studied up on chakra manipulation and combat techniques, but he'd also been indulging himself in stories of old. He'd learn about past historical events, important figures in history and society, and how all of them came together to shape the world to how it was today. And it wasn't just events around Konoha that he studied, but places and countries all over. Doing so not only made him wiser, but also more knowledgeable of the village and the clans living in it.

Naruto found this kind of studying to be fascinating and inspiring, as he was able to gain a better idea of right and wrong, and learn from the mistakes of those who came before him.

Today the orphan was touching up on his history of the world's greatest tyrants, leaders and criminals. By looking a little closer at these figures and their profiles, Naruto felt like he could learn a great deal about their methods, their ways of thinking, their personalities, and how their conquests influenced and shaped the world. To do this, he had to start from the basics, and get a feel for what these people were like before he started emulating any of them.

So there he saw, at a quiet desk in the middle of the library, with a stack of books on either side of him- historical, cultural, and shinobi-related. The item he currently had open in front of him was an issue of the 'bingo book' from a few years ago, which had since become outdated and retired to the archives.

Naruto's eyes were practically glowing in awe as he studied up on the people recorded in the chapters.

"Name: Uchiha Naka, aka _Shinku Yurei (_Crimson Specter_). _Date of Birth: June 7th XX09. Gender: Male. Affiliation: _Konohagakure_. Rank: Jonin. Hair colour: Black. Height: 178 cm. Bounty: 55,000,000 ryo. Classification: S-Class, Rogue Ninja/Terrorist. Status: Deceased," Naruto whispered to himself as he went over the description of the page he was on, while at the same time inspecting the profile of the person in question. "History: As a former member of the Uchiha Clan of _Konohagakure_, Naka made a name for himself as a genius and a master of his family's kekkei genkai, the Sharingan, as well as its more advanced form, the Mangekyo Sharingan. A prodigy since his time at the academy, Naka was promoted to Chunin at only twelve years of age and achieved the rank of Jonin at fifteen. Skilled in both ninjutsu, genjutsu, and _Daiki_ and _Shotai_ styles of kenjutsu, in his youth Naka was capable of taking down even the most battle-hardened and experienced shinobi in combat. His skills at casting illusions was so great, he was able to throw them while using ninjutsu to confuse and overwhelm his enemies."

Glancing the man's face over and reading into the details of his specialties, Naruto then continued on with his profile. "His awakening of the Mangekyo Sharingan soon led him to discovering the forbidden genjutsu_-" _The name of it was crossed out, which had the blond frown, "which enabled him to cheat death. Doing so allowed him to, on multiple occasions…" also blacked out, "-assassinating fellow members of his clan." The blond blinked at this odd line of information. Wondering why a lot of sections had been blacked out in this text, the young man moved on with his reading. "This obsession with using the technique soon led to his defection from _Konohagakure_, and later being classified as a rogue shinobi and a terrorist. Eventually he was tracked down by his former comrade in arms Naori Uchiha, who captured him and brought him back to the village to be tried for his crimes."

Processing the information, a clearly impressed Naruto then moved on through the next few pages. It was then he came upon another familiar face in the book- one that he'd seen illustrated many times in other documents, as well as previous volumes of this text. The face of the person, though black and white, was still clearly visible through the faded ink.

"Name: Uchiha Madara, aka _Shinku Akuma_ (Crimson Devil), _Maebure no Hakai_ (Harbinger of Destruction) and _Mijimena no Konohagakure_ (Scourge of the Hidden Leaf). Date of Birth: December 24th XXXX. Gender: Male. Affiliation: _Konohagakure_ (formerly). Rank: N/A. Hair colour: Black. Height: 179 cm. Former bounty: 800,000,000 double ryo. Classification: Double S-Rank, Rogue Ninja/Terrorist. Status: Deceased," Naruto read, his eyes panning over the long-haired photo of the individual in question, before then turning to the writing below. "The eldest of five sons, Madara was the legendary, former leader of the Uchiha Clan and one of the two founding members of _Konohagakure_. Along with the future First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, both he and Madara would go on to lay the foundations to one of the most powerful villages on the continent. Having been born during the warring periods prior to the formation of the Hidden Village system, Madara was a man raised and moulded by battle. In his lifetime, he'd endured months of war and strife against rival clans, and conflicts incited from numerous continental factions, from which he drew a great deal of his education and experience. His talent and aptitude for the ninja arts was so great that in his prime, he was considered one of the most powerful shinobi in the world."

"Wow. This guy sounds pretty awesome, dattebayo." In reading through the profile of Madara, Naruto not only felt a great deal of respect towards the individual, but a certain level of envy for his reputation alone was enough to inspire him to become better and stronger… someone who could make a person of such astonishing strength and influence look like a pup.

"Madara's mastery over the Mangekyo Sharingan was unlike any witnessed before in the history of his clan, enabling him to cast powerful genjutsu, alter probability, provide him a keen level of foresight during battle, and allowed him to produce a _Susanoo_ armour with the size and capacity of levelling an entire battlefield." Shrugging at this information, Naruto then moved on down and narrowed his eyes on the paragraphs to follow. "After the formation of Konoha, Madara's views on the changing world gradually became twisted and disjointed, as he believed the Senju were seeking to oppress his family. As a result, he later abandoned the village. Gaining control of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox, which had been wandering the wilds during that period, the Uchiha then waged a one-man war against the rest of the world. His first incursion into the southern nations in an attempt to destroy the newly formed villages of _Kusagakure_ and _Amegakure_ was effectively halted when legendary shinobi and former samurai, 'The Water Demon' Hanzo Hattori- grandfather of Hanzo of the Salamander- stepped in and fought him off. Madara and the Kyuubi were then relegated to the North of the Land of Fire, where they encountered Hashirama Senju. The pair fought for three days, creating a massive chasm that would later be called_ The Valley of the End_, until Hashirama bested and killed Madara, putting an end to his rebellion."

"_Give me a few years and I'll become twice as strong as this clown," _Naruto thought. After thoroughly reading through this section of the book, Naruto then turned to the note pad next to him and began scribbling down some dot points. Once he'd gotten all of the information he wanted, he then flipped through the previous chapters of the book; passing over other criminals such as Fuma Kotaro, Sarutobi Akuma, and the brothers Ginkaku and Kinkaku. It was then he stopped at a rather interesting looking profile that was marked by red-tape and the 'Extremely Dangerous' label, and began perusing over the details.

"Name: Shuten-doji. Date of Birth: Unknown. Gender: Female. Affiliation: Unknown. Rank: N/A. Hair colour: Black. Height: 190 cm. Bounty: 1,000,000,000 double ryo. Classification: Triple S-Rank, Demon. Status: Unknown," Naruto read while glancing across at the photo of what looked like a buxom young woman sitting by a pond with black hair, pale skin and two large horns growing out of her head. It was that last aspect that had him do a double-take on the picture, which looked as though it was shot from a long distance away, as the image was very blurry and out of focus. Figuring that the horns were probably a result of a trick in the light, the boy kept on reading. "The unholy offspring of darkness and death itself. Very little is known about this individual and many speculate as to her actual origins. However, it is known that about eight years ago a detachment of Konoha shinobi led by Minato Namikaze encountered this being at the base of a northern mountain while hunting down a group of Jashin supporters attempting to unseal a gate to the pure world. When they opened it, the creature emerged, and the squad from Konoha attempted to seal it again."

There was then a large section of the text blacked out, which had Naruto shake his head over the possible reason, before quickly scrolling down to the bottom.

"-after four days and nights of constant fighting, in which an entire village was wiped from the face of the map, the Konoha shinobi were effortlessly defeated." Looking warily across at the figure, Naruto then read on. "Based on their encounter with it, Minato Namikaze, Mikoto Uchiha, and the surviving ninja reported that its supernatural powers were unlike any ever encountered in the history of shinobi. Merely a single glance from this entity caused the Jashin supporters to crumble into dust, and the ground and forest around them to rot from her presence. If spotted, never engage this individual. Recommended approach: flee on sight."

Tilting his head at the page, Naruto looked over his shoulder to check to see if anyone was watching him. Seeing nobody wasn't, the blond then discreetly took a ruler, pressed it into the centre of the open book, and quietly ripped the section out. He then folded it up and pocketed it.

"_I'll keep this for later,"_ Naruto thought, figuring he'd save it for future study. Information about a monster that earned a classification of _this_ magnitude certainly deserved a more in-depth look.

Besides, if _he_ was going to make it to the top of the world as the most dangerous thing on this planet in every class and category, he had to familiarize himself with the competition. The prospect of finding out more about these demons and their abilities was so great that Naruto could barely contain the excited smirk that crossed his face.

Calming himself down a few seconds later, the child then returned to his reading and continued to peruse through the many books he'd picked out. He still had an entire day of free time left to kill, and he wasn't going to waste a single second of it.

OOO

(The following weekend)

One Saturday morning, having spent the better part of it after training wandering around the village aimlessly since the crack of dawn, the lonely and incredibly bored Naruto, his orange vest's hoodie pulled up over his head, had decided to go for an explore of the local neighbourhood. So far his adventure through this upper-class part of the village had been relatively uneventful, with the majority of the villagers he'd passed steering clear of him (as usual) while he ambled down the road with his hands in his pockets.

Keeping his face hidden, the youngster was kind of lost in his thoughts, which were dominated by ideas and thoughts on his training, as well as all the studying he'd been doing.

While he was ambling down a road behind some private estates in an area he wasn't too familiar with, the blonde's head perked up when he picked up the distinct sounds of shouting and talking. Tracing the sound towards one of the properties a little further down the dirt path, the aspiring bad guy jogged on over to check it out. Vaulting up onto the ceramic roof of the wall surrounding the home, the boy then crouched down on the platform and took a quick peak at the garden.

Much to his surprise, the youngster found himself staring down at an enormous dirt courtyard with over two dozen children standing in the centre of it- boys and girls around his age, with brown and dark blue hair respectively, and all dressed in matching grey training gis. What's more, all the kids were arranged into rows and dropped into horse-riding stances, and were currently practicing palm thrusts under the supervision of their trainer.

Every time they threw an attack, all the children shouted at the top of their lungs and in perfect unison. There was a brief pause between each strike and, during every pause, the teacher walking between their rows would come up behind one of the children and correct their stance or position, just to make sure they were doing the exercise properly. This meticulous and repetitive form of practice was something that would normally be found in a typical dojo or a self-defence class, where youngsters were trained for competition purposes or otherwise. But as Naruto observed from his spot on top of the perimeter wall, this wasn't just some ordinary martial arts class.

On closer inspection, the blond quickly realized that he'd actually wandered into the Hyuuga Clan district and had just happened to come across one of their private compounds, where members of the powerful family were currently practicing the basic techniques associated with their world famous taijutsu style, _Juken_ (Gentle Fist).

This was something that Naruto wasn't expecting to stumble across while on his little village walk, but it certainly wasn't unwelcome. In fact, the blond cracked a genuine smile as he made himself comfortable and proceeded to watch the class with interest.

As the children continued going through their palm exercises, their instructor, a tall Hyuuga kunoichi with Bob-style brown hair, pale skin, crystal blue eyes, a scar across her right cheek, and wearing a purple qi pao kimono, walked between them with a stern expression in play. During which time she began to speak. "Remember… every movement you make must be accompanied by a breath… and every step a pause. You must be fluid with each of your strikes, but also decisive… inhaling and exhaling throughout. Any attempts to hold yourself back or restrict your movements will result in rigid attacks and a fragile defence." She then stepped over to a young girl and pushed her arm up when she noticed she was hitting too low. "Feel the ground and your surroundings. Breathe and maintain your focus. And never let your guard down. Understand?!"

"_**Hai, sensei!"**_

The collective response of the students echoed across the area, informing the kunoichi that all of her students understood. With a nod, she then turned around and headed back out of the formation to begin moving around the outside. "Change it up. Crescent repulse and double-palm strikes. On my count!" She then heard a loud stomp as every single child stepped forward with their left foot and assumed offensive stances. "Ready. One! Two! Three!" The woman counted on and watched as all of her students began executing two simultaneous techniques one after the other with both arms.

Naruto became incredibly fascinated and enamoured in the training session taking place in front of him and continued to watch for the next few minutes. Upon seeing the kunoichi woman sternly correct four of her students by having the others stop and getting the offenders to perform the techniques individually, the blond then decided to 'join in'. He did so by standing up, assuming the _Gentle Fist_ stance that the children were using, and copying their movements at the kunoichi's count.

His arms moved in semi-circles around his body as he performed a stepping flourish, followed by a return of both palms to the front before pushing out with them. He then repeated the motion over and over, making sure to stick the pattern and maintain his footing on the tiled roof. When he felt his body was too rigid, he matched his breathing techniques with his body movements and, sure enough, he started to execute his technique with grace and precision.

For the next half an hour Naruto stood on that wall, copying and mimicking the techniques being practiced down below. When the children moved into practicing simultaneous deflection and counter attacks with a partner, Naruto continued, practicing being both the attacker and the defender with his own shadow.

During this period, the kunoichi instructor below suddenly took notice of the blond boy up on the wall. As her students continued on with their session, she watched the whisker-marked child in the hoody for several moments, raising an eyebrow as she took notice of how he was executing each technique with confidence and poise.

Unfortunately, just as Naruto was getting into the swing of the practice, he suddenly heard a voice yell out to him. "Hey! You!" Looking down at the street, the orphan suddenly spotted a Hyuuga male with a ponytail and wearing a shinobi uniform glaring up at him. A rather irritated expression was currently slapped across his face. "What do you think you're doing up there?! Get down! Now!"

"Uh oh." Quickly disengaging from his stance, a surprised Naruto turned tail and ran, jumping down from the wall and sprinting away as fast as he could. The Hyuuga Chunin gave chase, but then gave up halfway down the road when the child managed to disappear around the corner seconds later. Figuring it wasn't worth going after him, Hoheto Hyuuga gave a low sigh and turned to head back inside.

The kunoichi instructor meanwhile, after seeing the blond take flight, cracked a small smile before returning to coach her students, all of whom had been too busy to notice the commotion going on nearby.

XXX

(A couple months later)

That first visit to the Hyuuga Clan compound wouldn't be Naruto's last. In fact, after his little peeping session and eventual run-in with the Chunin, the orphan began visiting the estate every day at the exact same time, so that he could watch and observe the taijutsu classes being held in that central courtyard.

After the first two weeks, the orphan was quickly able to get a solid grasp of all the times that each of the classes were held.

There were two classes held on the weekends in the morning and afternoon, and one held every day during the week in the evenings. During these brisk two-hour periods, the youngest members of the clan's main and branch family members would gather together and form into rows, which were divided by age and experience. From there, under the keen eye of their Jonin instructor, the children would then practice their basic techniques- including stances, footwork, and handwork- before being paired up to practice through sparring. Thanks to his frequent attendance to these proceedings, Naruto was given plenty of opportunities to observe and record how all of them practiced.

The blonde's part wasn't just limited to being a spectator either. Over the course of the next two months, Naruto was also able to join in on some of the classes from a distance, allowing him to work on the techniques and skills being taught at the same time as the children. He was also able to correct himself by also copying the movements of the children and making all the corrections the teacher pointed out to the students.

Barring any interruptions he may have with any Hyuuga Clan guards that happened to be on duty, Naruto was able to get a full and worthwhile morning or afternoon taijutsu session with his training schedule.

And so another addition was added to Naruto's time table, and the aspiring villain-in-training continued on with his day-to-day life without issue.

But his days of peace and isolation weren't to last forever. As it turns out, the caretakers at the orphanage started to grow a little bit concerned with the blonde's absences in the early mornings and late afternoons, with the head of the facility taking this issue up directly with the Hokage. At the behest of the supervisor, Hiruzen Sarutobi then approached Naruto and asked if the child wanted to be moved into an apartment that would be more beneficial for his needs.

Seeing no problems with moving into an apartment on his own, as it would grant him a lot more freedom than what he had with his current arrangement, Naruto accepted the elder's proposal and happily went with the village leader on a tour of the available apartments. Throughout the venture the blond wore a big smile, which helped in concealing his true motivations as to why he wanted a place to himself.

It certainly fooled the Hokage.

This endeavour took up most of an entire day, where the pair walked from one apartment to another in search of one that would be best suited for the youngster. Eventually the pair happened upon a quiet, six-tatami mat flat on the east side of the village- complete with a hot spring in the back and a laundromat just down the block next to a convenience store. Quickly developing a liking to the small but practical apartment, which sat close by to all the places he needed, Naruto quickly informed the Hokage that he would take it, and was promptly given both a key and a contract.

Hiruzen was really pleased to see the blond so excited to be moving into his own home. After hearing for himself that the youngster would be able to take care of himself, the elder then gave the boy a quick rundown of the establishment's rules and time schedules. Once he'd done that, the elder than gave Naruto his first allowance for the fortnight and headed on his way, leaving the blond to his own devices.

And so, after buying all the necessary equipment and supplies he needed for his new place of residence, Naruto's life as an independent minor began in earnest.

The blond learned quickly how living in a flat was different from being in a dorm. For one he wasn't sharing the room with anybody else, other than himself, and didn't have any other children in the bunks opposite him snoring away. He also didn't have to keep an eye out for the caretaker, who would normally be giving any of the orphans an earful if they were ever caught breaking a rule of the house or doing something inappropriate. Here, Naruto didn't have to worry about any of those, except for the opening and closing periods of the washing up area.

Along with the adjustments to his new living conditions, Naruto's training also progressed at a steady and ideal pace.

Towards the end of his school year, his gymnastic training advanced to a higher tier, his strength-building training began including heavier weights that wouldn't stunt his growth, his cardio sessions were increased, his focus on taijutsu included a further studying and inclusion of more styles, and his attendance at the library was also increased.

Eventually the end of his preschool year came around and Naruto was set to move on to his junior primary years. Winter had pulled around in and, as the days grew short and the nights grew long, snow started to fall over the _Land of Fire_, blanketing the entire countryside in a layer of white. This marked the first winter season Naruto would spend in his new home.

It would also be his first winter season spent alone and, with the new changes in conditions, meant a potentially new area of learning for him.

On one particular day, as he was wandering through the snow filling the roads of his village, the young Naruto had decided to go for yet another wander through the village, familiarizing himself with the odd terrain. Wearing a thick, hooded orange jacket and a pair of khaki pants, the young blond had stopped by a convenience store and bought himself a couple of instant ramen cups and a hot water flask.

Having prepared a cup a little while earlier, Naruto was currently digging into it as he strolled down the side road at a steady pace. During which time the six-year-old scarcely noticed the buildings around him becoming more and more dilapidated the further in he went. Passing by a few closed stores and bars, the blond then gave a quick glance towards one of the alleys he passed, and stopped when he noticed a couple of people sitting against the wall and staring at him.

There, hiding in the shadow of a couple of crates and covered by a thick blanket, were a couple of children- a boy and a girl- and their mother, all of whom dressed in old, tattered clothing, and covered in gunk. Obviously homeless, the trio were all huddled together for warmth, with the brother and sister having spotted Naruto walking by and were now looking at him with interest and worry.

Staring at the group of vagrants for a moment, Naruto swallowed the food in his mouth and considered the family for a moment.

Seeing people living on the streets in _Konohagakure_ wasn't an entirely new or rare thing. It was common knowledge to a lot of people that many conflicts and wars had taken place in recent years, which had left a lot of civilians and foreigners without homes or places to return to. As a result, the Hidden Leaf village had generously taken in a number of refugees and families who'd lost everything. Though the council had managed to help out a few of these displaced groups, there were a number of stragglers who were still out of sorts, and had to resort to finding places to stay with whatever belongings they had left.

Some of those who were too broke or didn't have anything at all had unfortunately ended up in places like this- in the poor and rundown areas of the village where there were few authority figures and people to chase them off.

Expression reflecting a sense of sadness at the single mother's and her children's misfortune, the orphan then looked down at the bag he was carrying and the clothes he was wearing. After thinking on it for a moment and looking to see the family was shivering in the cold, the youngster smiled and approached them.

He then stopped in front of the group and held the bag he was holding out. "Here. Do you guys want some?" Receiving no answer, except seeing the children look at their mother in surprise, Naruto simply smiled and, moving over, sat down next to them. He then set his bag down and began pulling out the cups of ramen and a couple sets of chopsticks, all the while being watched by the family. "I'm more than happy to share these with you. I've got some pork and spicy ramen in here, and a couple others. They taste really good."

The child then proceeded to open the cupped ramen and pour the hot water from his flask into them. From there they then waited, with both the blond and the children watched the noodles simmer for about two minutes. Stirring to make sure the noodles broke apart and separated, the blond then handed noodles to each of the kids, watching with satisfaction as expressions of joy filled their faces.

"Th-Thank you," the little girl with dark hair chirped when Naruto handed a cup over to her, at the same time licking her lips eagerly.

Naruto beamed at the words of gratitude and then handed another cup over to the mother, who smiled warmly at the generous youngster and accepted it greatly with a quiet 'thank you' of her own. After which the family sat together and ate a warm meal, with the blond watching quietly right alongside them.

Exhaling a light cloud of heat, the boy then turned his gaze towards the street around him and, as time ticked by, became lost in his thoughts.

XXX

(Over the winter)

His little run-in with the family told young Naruto that he still knew very little about the world, its problems, its intricacies, and its issues, and that he had very little experience about many aspects of it. Though he was an orphan, born and raised within a structured system that both provided for him and shunned him, he had very little idea of what other people in less fortunate situations than him had to endure. Not only that, but he also had no idea what the world was like outside of the safety of _Konohagakure's_ walls and what dangers were lurking out there.

This was knowledge and information that he felt was worth going out to explore and research, and though he wasn't quite ready to leave the security of the village's boundaries just yet, there were still other things he could try while within them.

As an extra addition to his development and learning to becoming a stronger person, Naruto decided that for the next year or so he would discard the luxuries and comforts of his apartment. Locking it up and imparting the key with the landlord for safe keeping, the blonde then went out into the streets to see what life was like from a vagrant's point of view.

He wanted to be able to experience this kind of life for himself without the backing of the system, while at the same time continue his training regimen under more dire circumstances. After all, pain and hardship was something that he had to grow up with. It was something he'd had to endure for a long time and it's also what drove him to pursue his dream. So he will continue to follow this path, and identify himself with the pain and suffering of others, all in order to gain a better understanding of the world around him.

So for the next several months Naruto lived life on the edge, staying on the streets, wandering the dark alleys, and finding shelter in forgotten and abandoned buildings. At one point he came down with a flu and at another time he was almost robbed by a homeless person- moments that made his test harder and almost unbearable. But all in all, his new surroundings enabled him to get a good, hard look at the Hidden Leaf and its society from a completely new perspective, where he had to rely solely on his own means and whatever resources he could find.

On that note, all the money the Hokage gave him as part of his fortnightly allowance for this period, Naruto gave away to the people who needed it more, which made him feel better all-around as a person. Though this show of charity did mean he had to go hungry on some days, he was still able to provide for himself through a variety of different means.

He was able to compensate for his lack of funds by learning how to fish from the local river and hunt in the woods for whatever game he could find. It gave him plenty of practice in the art of tracking and trapping, and he was able to hone these skills frequently and effectively. But aside from these slight moments of reprieve, Naruto still went on living off of the bare minimum. Heck, he even wore his clothes to the point that they started to fall apart on him, forcing him to scrounge, steal or borrow whatever replacements he could get his hands on, so as to trade in for the ones that disintegrated over time. Though it wasn't easy and it went against a lot of his views on the rules of a normal life style, it did give him a greater exposure to an aspect of community and environment that would've previously gone over his head.

The hardest part about this whole thing of course wasn't the weather, the conditions surrounding him, the lack of companions or anything like that. No. It was actually keeping up with his training while being hampered by the cold and lack of food.

He continued visiting the Hyuuga Clan compound, where he was able to practice the _Gentle Fist_ style in the shadow of the groups from either the rooftop of the entrance. Of course, every once in a while during the training sessions, he was chased off by the Chunin that would sometimes be patrolling the perimeter of the compound. But on most days he was lucky and he was able to get a full session into his routine.

When not visiting them, he would practice other styles in conjunction with the sleek and graceful movements of the Hyuuga, including the _Hard Fist, Snake Fist,_ _Shadow Fist_ and more. What's more, whenever he discovered a new style in the library that he knew would help him, he would take it and begin practicing it religiously.

The free-flowing movements and power displayed by masters of the martial arts really drew Naruto to them in a very primal way, as they presented an image of poise, power, confidence, and extreme discipline that he himself sorely lacked. If there was a chance that he could become a powerful villain through hand-to-hand fighting alone, one that could overwhelm enemies with his own strength without having to rely on the same chakra as everybody else, then he was going to pursue it with every iota of his being.

When Naruto's next year of school came along, he stayed the course of his training, remaining on the streets at night while studying at the academy or training in the woods by day.

OOO

(A few months later)

(Second Term)

"Huh? Who the heck are you?" the conceited voice of a young girl suddenly filled the air as she and her friends glared behind them at the person who'd approached them. Judging from their outraged expressions, it was clear that they did not like the fact that they'd been interrupted from their little game.

Of course, the situation that was currently unfolding in the clearing just off of the playground and climbing courses outside of the academy wouldn't exactly be considered fun. Gathered around a tall oak tree and surrounded by a grove of flowers, a group of about three young girls in their first year of school were standing with their backs turned to a fourth girl, who was currently kneeling on the ground in tears after some rather hurtful lashing. Obviously being the antagonists in this scenario, the group of cocky-looking youngsters were now staring down a blonde, spiky-haired boy wearing a ragged looking white and orange jacket, a green, stained scarf, and tattered blue shorts.

He was looking at the trio with an expression akin to a dead fish, which didn't exactly scream scary or intimidating in any way, but from the current look of dreadfulness and exhaustion on his face, he didn't appear worried in the least.

Stepping forward from her troop, the purple haired girl in the striped shirt and pack leader folded her arms and smirked at the child. "What do you want, whiskers? Can't you see we're busy here?"

Naruto, having clearly been through a rather rough day himself, glanced past the three girls to the fourth behind them, where he spotted the pink-haired form of who he recognized as one of his classmates. Sakura Haruno, if he remembered correctly, dressed in a nice red shirt and skirt, with long pink hair.

Noticing that her knees were scuffed and that she was sobbing as she stared back at him through the locks of her messy fringe, the whiskered-blond gave a couple of blinks before then turning to the three girls, who'd once again taken a step closer to him.

The now impatient-looking Ami leant forward and glared right at the boy, hoping that her friends' presence would prompt the child to back off. "Well? Speak up. Aren't you going to say something? Or are you too stupid to answer the question for yourself?"

"Yeah. Come on, runt," the tall, ginger-haired Kasumi spoke with her usual gruff tone. "Give us something. Otherwise we'll just have to flatten you like we did to 'forehead girl' here." She said this while gesturing back to the girl on the grass, who quickly looked up when she was addressed.

Through the haze of tears still fresh in her eyes, the pinkette spotted the blond boy confronting the three girls that'd been picking on her out of sight of any of the teachers. Realizing that he was now drawing their attention away from her, the girl at first felt relief, until she saw them begin to circle the boy. This immediately had her look up in worry, as she was well aware of how aggressive Ami and her friends were, especially towards boys.

Hopefully they wouldn't do anything bad to him. He was on his own after all.

Exhaling deeply at the incredibly fierce stares he was receiving from the trio in front of him, the bored Naruto then responded in a flat voice. "The three of you are in my way. Could you please move so that I can get past?"

"Huh?" Ami balked, staring at the boy in surprise. "What did you just say to me?"

Not reacting emotionally in any way, the unflinching Naruto repeated his response, "I… asked if you could move."

"Oh… you want us to move, huh?" Kasumi huffed and stomped forward.

"Why don't you just go around us?" the spiky haired Fuki asked with a foul glare directed towards the blond. "It's not like you have to walk very far."

Ami then raised a hand and waved at the blond. "You're annoying. Go away."

Closing his eyes and breathing a heavy sigh, Naruto then looked up at the three girls to see Ami's two friends advance on him. "Look… I'm trying to be nice… and I'm doing my best to not cause any trouble at school. But if you three don't move in the next few seconds, I'm going to start breaking noses from idiot to idiot, because I'm not in the mood for messing around." A familiar scenario then started developing again, as the blond felt the encroaching feeling of being ganged up on. Honestly, it was a feeling that pissed him off and began revving the metaphorical engine inside of him.

"You want to do what?" the imposing Kasumi asked while stepping up to the slightly shorter Naruto to stare him right in his tired face. Looking him up and down, the big girl huffed. "Your clothes are dirty and gross."

"And you smell funny," Fuki exclaimed, at the same time pinching her nose to illustrate the problem.

Naruto's eye twitched as a result. _"That's because I found these clothes in a fabric dumpster… jerks."_ If they knew what he was doing outside of school they would probably understand. But he highly doubted it.

These girls obviously weren't doing his kind of training or probably any.

"A 'nobody' like you can't give us orders," Ami said a little louder, also getting up into the blonde's face. With a huff, she then reached up and poked him in the chest… hard. "Now beat it, loser." Touching the blond turned out to be her big mistake, as in a blink of an eye Naruto effortlessly grabbed her hand with his right and twisted it in a textbook Z-shaped lock, turning it downwards and forcing Ami to bend with it. The girl's eyes widened the moment her body started bending towards the floor as a sharp pain shot up her limb. "OW-OW-OW-OW-OW!"

Expression remaining unchanged, the boy then saw the two girls beside Ami about to step in to help her. Acting on instinct, the boy changed the hold he had on the purple-haired girl, spinning her around so that she had her back to him and her arm locked behind her. Upon doing so Naruto then reached up, pushed his hand through his hair and slicked it back. He then gave the two girl's a very threatening smirk, which had Kasumi and Fuki back away when they felt the boy's ire on them.

"Would you girls do me a favour and walk away now?" Naruto asked in a gravely tone of voice, warning them if they tried anything he would hurt them.

Looking between the youngster and Ami, whom gave a pained yelp when the boy tightened his hold on her wrist and intensified the lock, Kasumi and her friend then wisely took a step back.

"S-Sure…"

"Thanks for understanding," Naruto hissed, before then releasing Ami and shoving her forward. Almost immediately upon being released the terrified girls then took flight, leaving Naruto and Sakura alone, the latter of whom couldn't help but stare after them in bewilderment.

Upon seeing the trio leave, the pinkette then turned to the boy who helped her, only to find he was standing directly beside her. She jumped a little when she looked up to see him glaring down at her- his eyes narrowed darkly and blond locks still slicked back- giving the impression that he was going to attack her as well. However, just when Sakura leaned away in preparation for yet another aggressive confrontation that she did not want, the blond orphan spoke in his raspy voice.

"Why were those three giving you such a hard time?"

"I… I…" Not knowing what to say at first, Sakura sniffled before quickly bringing her hands up to cover her face. "Th-They were making fun of my forehead… and telling me I was ugly."

"Really?" Naruto then tilted his head at the girl's appearance, looking to see if there was anything wrong. He then leant forward and pushed aside the bangs hanging over her face, causing Sakura to curl up a little more and clench her eyes shut. After inspecting it for himself, the blond grunted and let her bangs fall back into place. "I don't see anything wrong. You look perfectly find to me."

Blinking, the girl looked up at him in surprise. "Huh? R-Really?"

"Yeah." Naruto nodded, before then slipping his hands back into his pockets, gestured in the direction the bullies had ran. "You shouldn't let those girls pick on you and call you names… or anybody else. If you let them walk all over you now, then they'll keep doing that… and call you a weakling for the rest of your life. Trust me… it will suck." Noticing the pinkette staring up at him through her veil of pink hair with a look of awe and amazement, the blond felt a tad bit of discomfort overcome him. Feeling his face heat up, the sullen youngster turned around. "If you want to stop them from pushing you around… _train_… work hard… and get strong enough so that people will be too afraid to mess with you." He then walked away, not wanting to be around if the girls decided to go fetch a teacher.

As Sakura watched the boy walk towards the forest and away from the children on the playground, the child felt an overpowering sense of motivation and wonder settle in. Not only was she moved by the mysterious boy's words and tone, but upon looking back at his actions and remembering how he so handily chased those girls away from her, the pinkette also felt a great deal of reverence to his confidence and skills.

She'd never seen another boy act and talk like that, with such a calm and poised disposition. It was almost like he was a grownup, even though some of the words he spoke didn't belong to an adult.

When the image of his face looking down at her crossed her mind once again, his piercing blue eyes, rugged face, and whiskers framed by his slicked back blond hair, Sakura felt a bit of heat swell up in her cheeks. As a result, her hands and stomach clenched a little tighter, as a surge of energy washed through her.

"_If you want to stop them from pushing you around… train… work hard… and get strong enough so that people will be too afraid to mess with you."_

His words echoed through her head like a ring from a bell, filling her with newfound feeling of enlightenment and confidence.

"He's so cool…" Sakura whispered.

XXX

(Two weeks later)

"One!"

"_**HA!"**_

"Two!"

"_**HA!"**_

"THREE!"

"_**HA!"**_

"Dig deep! Find your inner strength! Let the enemy know you are delivering the blow… not receiving it," the firm, commanding voice of the female Hyuuga instructor shouted as she walked between the rows of twenty adolescent branch and main clan students. Her hands propped behind her and white eyes wide open, the female with the scar across her cheek scanned the rows of tiny soldiers in front of her, watching as they were all assumed in a striking position.

Palms fully extended, the children, all arranged in order from youngest to oldest, remained locked in position with their eyes focused on the area ahead of them. It was a very dignified spectacle, seeing all the young members of the clan sticking to their task and listening to their teacher so diligently. Obviously she was greatly respected by the members of her clan.

The brown haired woman then spotted a discrepancy amongst her ranks and marched forward, grabbing the guard hand of one of her students and nudging it towards his ribs. She then stepped back as the child in question, a young Hyuuga male with dark brown hair tied into a top knot, broke out a worried sweat. "In this position, keep the hand positioned over your centre mass to protect your vital areas. Do not give the enemy any openings to exploit. Understood?!"

"Hai, Fujiko-sensei!" the boy shouted back, at the same time firming up his stance.

Nodding, the woman then moved on down the rows towards the back, inspecting everyone's stances. After lightly stepping on the back foot of a student who had overextended it, prompting him to slide it back into place, she then stopped at the final row when she noticed something odd about the formation.

It wasn't the fact that the students were doing anything incorrectly, no. All of them were lined up and standing perfectly. It was the fact that one of the students, who was standing on the far left of the arrangement, wasn't a member of any of the Hyuuga Clan families at all.

Naruto, who'd been watching from the entrance since the start of the lesson a few minutes ago, had decided to come out to join the class and inserted himself into their ranks. Hoping that he wouldn't get noticed, the child had stripped himself down to a pair of long blue pants that he'd borrowed from a donation box and tacked on a white, tattered oriental top with patches in it- and had obviously been worn by a child practicing martial arts.

He'd managed to slip into the back row of seven-year-old Hyuuga students and had been practicing the techniques with their class unnoticed. That was until the instructor, Fujiko, marched towards the back to inspect her troops.

Needless to say it was a rather bizarre and unexpected turn of events.

For the next minute the kunoichi stood there staring down at the boy curiously, at the same time watching as several of the other students turned their attention to him, but remained in their stances. After looking over the out-of-place six-year-old for a moment, the woman raised an eyebrow as she saw he was doing his best not to move in any way. This was obvious from the way he had his eyes fixed on the space ahead and all his focus on the lesson.

"_This is the child that's been showing up and watching our lessons for the last few months," _Fujiko thought, her eyes tracing over his build and taking note of his form. _"He hasn't missed a single one."_ This much was clear from how clean and steady his stance was.

She hadn't seen anything like it.

After several moments of tense silence and watching the blond sweat a little bit out of sheer nerves, Fujiko then cracked a smile and looked back at her class. Noticing the children were looking back at her, her expression steeled once more and she shouted, "HEY! Who said any of you could break form?!" She then watched all the children snap back to their previous positions before she once again glanced down at the newcomer. "Keep that stance tight and centre of gravity low. Understand?"

Naruto nodded. "Hai!"

"Let's get back to it!" the Hyuuga woman shouted, keeping her hands locked behind her while moving back towards the front. "Twisting palm strikes! On my count! ONE!"

"_**HA!"**_

"Two!"

"_**HA!"**_

"Three!"

"_**HA!"**_

And so, class continued, with one little surprise addition to the group, who was more than thrilled to be there…

XXX

(A year later)

It was another early morning over _Konohagakure_ and the start of a new work period for the citizens of the great shinobi state. The majority of the people residing in the metropolitan and downtown areas of the village were all getting up to start the day, with the streets gradually starting to fill the higher the sun rose.

But far out of the way of the large bustling crowds, dirt roads and heavy atmosphere of the hidden leaf, in the more peaceful and clear atmosphere of the forested areas surrounding the ninja community, one particular youngster was tending to his own business. As usual, Naruto Uzumaki had once again dedicated the waking hours of his morning to training and honing his skills, polishing his skills in a way that only the most disciplined and driven of prodigies would.

After having powered through an incredibly tense morning of cardio and strength-based training for this particular day, Naruto was now finishing his day with a heavy meditation session under a waterfall.

Having found this secluded lake in the woods quite some time ago, the now seven-year-old youngster had been coming here frequently to practice some other more intense methods of training. This was evidence from how damaged some of the nearby trees were, which looked as though they'd been shredded by the child driving punches and kicks into them, with several more sporting what looked like bullet holes embedded in their trunks.

However, the main focus for Naruto's presence here was to practice chakra control and manipulation, which he'd recently been doing a lot more studying of during his visits to the library. With his classes at the academy gradually starting to steep more and more into the shinobi curriculum, the blonde was now aiming beyond that and getting into the real nitty-gritty aspects of the subject. Hell, Naruto already understood the basic fundamentals of chakra, nature transformations, and all its advanced forms. Now he was starting to put them into use.

Unlike his fellow classmates and villagers though, the route he was taking on this was a lot different to what everybody normally followed.

In his explorations of the library's oldest sections, Naruto came upon some new journal entries involving the strange taijutsu he was practicing, which required the use of some strange type of chakra. According to the monk that wrote this set of books, the energy system described was completely different from the normal chakra and circulatory charts studied at the academy, and it was something the blond was now devoting all of his sessions towards accomplishing.

At this stage, his control was minute, but it was present.

As the child sat there, underneath the heavy downpour of water beating down on his head and shoulders, Naruto kept his eyes shut and his hands lanced together in his lap. Sporting only a pair of tight shorts, the warrior-in-training was in a state of complete and utter concentration, as he was not only being forced to endure the cold of the current crashing down on top of him, but also work on stirring the energy inside of him, which still seemed like an entirely foreign and untameable force.

That was until, after about half-an-hour of sitting there, the child's tense expression then relaxed, which was shortly followed by the rock he was sitting on beginning to shake as what looked like heatwaves started to waft off of him. Seconds later, as the peculiar anomaly gradually became stronger with each passing second, the little pebbles and debris sitting amongst the rocks sitting around Naruto lost all weight to them and lifted into the air, while the water slamming into the boy from above suddenly started to get pushed back by an invisible force.

This unusual atmospheric disturbance was comparatively small and didn't really amount to much, except for a two foot break in the waterfall above the blond that for a brief period kept him from getting wet. However, it was exactly the kind of reaction that Naruto was hoping to achieve and, upon reaching his moment of clarity, held it for as long as he could. Controlling his breathing and keeping his heartbeat steady, the blond then reached out with his hand and suspended it in front of him. Upon which he focused the ethereal chakra into his palm, causing the end of his limb to start shimmering with the same steamy effect that had previously enveloped his entire body.

After several moments, Naruto opened his eyes and finished his display with a sharp yell, which led to him firing off a blast of wind from his palm that cut through the air for a few feet. Seeing the leaves in the distant tree become disturbed from the tiny shockwave he produced, the youngster grinned triumphantly, only to then give a grunt of surprise when the waterfall that he'd been holding back slammed down on top of him, cutting off his great moment.

"Ugh… right…" the child mumbled under the force of the torrential downpour, but then smiled seconds later when he realized it wasn't that much of a bother. "I guess… I'll just call this a day then, dattebayo…"

Standing up and stepping down from his rock, the youngster then walked out from under the falls and jumped back to shore. Once there he returned to the clothes and scrolls he had folded up nearby, dried himself off, and got himself redressed for the day ahead.

OOO

With the end of one season came the start of a brand new one and Naruto had most certainly begun his with earnest. Having moved back into his apartment a couple months ago after an extended and incredibly harsh chapter of his training, the orphan was back to living somewhat of a healthier lifestyle. Having experienced a whole other side of the village and gotten a taste of hardship by way of unfairness in the class system, he could walk-away feeling even more motivated to pursue his dreams and fulfil his goals.

Normally such an experience would've made a person more jaded. But instead what Naruto received was a genuine wakeup call. It made him stronger both inside and out, and he now felt that whatever decisions he now made moving into his future would have a lot more weight to them.

Of course, this was all mostly feeling at this stage, as the youngster wasn't able to make such a sophisticated breakdown of his training. So right now he was ready for the next step.

After yet another day at the academy in which Naruto didn't really receive much in terms of learning or support- as he'd already long past the current level of the curriculum- the child then headed to the Hyuuga Compound for another class session with Fujiko. Having progressed quite far in their special brand of taijutsu, the boy was given a chance to work with the more advanced and well-trained students to focus on their exchanges and techniques. After a vigorous round of practice and spars, the students were dismissed and Naruto was sent home with some very positive feedback from the instructor.

Needless to say, the blond was starting to like the tough Hyuuga woman with the scar on her cheek. She was spunky and cool- two traits that he greatly admired in other people.

Now back in a normal set of clothing, which consisted of an orange and white hooded vest over a black T-shirt and a pair of orange shorts, the blonde youngster was now on his way to the academy. Wandering down the street by his lonesome and ignoring the people passing him by, the child then stopped by a convenience store to pick up some breakfast and lunch. When he re-emerged with a plastic bag in hand and a bun in his mouth, the child then turned down the road and headed for home.

The moment he did so however, Naruto suddenly spotted a familiar group of people crossing the junction just a few yards ahead of him. The sight of the gang prompted Naruto to stop in his tracks and narrow his eyes, as he quickly recognized one of the five children to be none other than Kaito Uchiha- dressed in a grey high-collar shirt and white shorts- along with Hiko, Yochan, and two of his other mates. All of them were walking shoulder to shoulder, laughing, and chatting excitedly with each other, making a big show of themselves in public and looking like they were having the time of their lives.

They were so caught up in their outing that the group didn't even notice the blond in the hoody standing further down the intersecting road. When they passed the crossroads and disappeared around the corner moments later, the stationary Naruto remained where he was and considered them for several moments. He chewed on the pork bun piece in his mouth and swallowed it, at the same time his brain ran over all the memories of every single encounter he'd had with their gang. At that moment, the child was given three options.

One: turn around, walk away, and forget he even saw them. Two: go back to one of his designated training areas and take his frustrations out on a tree.

Or three: _chase them down and beat them up for all the hell they'd put him through._

Remembering the pain and torment Kaito and his crew had inflicted upon him over the years, and how their actions had further managed to ostracize him from the rest of the village and the children at the academy, a surge of energy suddenly rushed through the orphan's body. It gripped at Naruto's chest, causing his hands to clench and his gaze to darken.

Upon which a malicious grin then crossed his lips.

"Hmm… I feel like eating something different tonight," the boy chirped to himself as his eyes flashed dangerously. "Maybe I'll go for a hunt, dattebayo."

Decision made, Naruto quickly finished the bun he was holding, crouched low to the ground, and leapt high into the air. Spring-boarding off of a nearby balcony, the youngster made it to the rooftop of the adjacent building with ease, where he then proceeded to follow the group from a distance.

Hey. He was bored and stressed. He needed to take these out on something.

OOO

(Uchiha Clan Compound)

"…and the teacher totally freaked out. It was awesome," the spiky haired Hiko Sarutobi chirped with great enthusiasm, capping off his story with another round of laughs from his friends. "He was jumping all over the classroom."

"Man. I can't believe he didn't notice you put that pin on his seat," another of the boys laughed as well, watching as they turned down yet another street of the Uchiha Clan compound on the far side of the village. "Sometimes the teachers can be so stupid."

"And they're supposed to be the strongest and most elite ninja of this village," Kaito commented from the middle, hands in his pockets and a wide grin on his face. "If they can get caught off guard by a simple rank, then it should be super easy for us to become shinobi in the future."

"Yeah. The five of us will become the best ninja in the village," another of the boys exclaimed, raising a hand and forming a fist. "We'll become so great, even the Hokage will have nothing over us."

"You said it," Hiko chirped, bumping fists with his fellow classmate as they continued on through the neighbourhood.

Not too long afterwards the group of five youngsters came upon Kaito's house- a large, glamorous looking building sitting on a small estate alongside several others on the same road. As it should be expected of one of the most powerful clans in the village, the area was lush, peaceful, and stately; with the symbols of the shinobi family patterned on every wall and post. Presently, the only people who could be seen out and about in this part of the suburbs included an elderly couple sitting on a park bench, a mother sweeping leaves off of her front porch in a neighbouring house, a group of adolescent girls kicking ball on the street, and a couple of Uchiha teenagers hanging out by the swings.

When the group of five boys passed through the group playing ball, the Uchiha girl who was about to throw a kick puffed her cheeks out and waved a fist at their laughing leader. "Hey! Kaito-nee! Watch where you're walking!"

"Yeah, yeah, Rea-nee! I hear yah," Kaito waved with barely even a glance towards his fellow clan member and cousin, the curly haired Uchiha girl grumbling as she watched the boy and his friends walk away. While the other girls complained to the boys, who simply snickered off their little interference, the raven haired Uchiha boy cupped his hands over his mouth and called out. "Nii-san! I'm home! Come on out!"

The cheerful Hiko grinned across at his best friend. "Hey. Your brother is already a Genin, right?"

"Yeah," Kaito replied, while placing his hands on his hips. "Nii-san was put on a team last year after passing the school's final exams. The teachers said he finished the tests faster than any of his friends… and that he did really well." He then stuck his nose in the air proudly. "He's the coolest, best Genin in the whole damn village!"

"Wow," the buzz-cut, singlet wearing form of Yochan murmured in awe.

"Maybe he can teach us some cool tricks and how to be a real ninja," the Sarutobi youngster said enthusiastically, which was immediately followed by exclamations of agreement from the rest of their friends.

"Yeah, yeah. He can show us how to do ninjutsu to fight real bad guys and other ninja," Yochan added on excitedly.

"Ohh… that sounds like fun."

Kaito and his friends then ceased laughing when they heard that voice echo through the street, with the Uchiha girls gathered behind them also looking up in surprise. When the collection of youngsters began trying to search for the source of the voice, a yelp of fright from the ball-players drew the boys' attention back down the road, where they saw a small figure had leapt down from the roof and landed directly in the middle of the girls' circle.

Resting on his hands and knees in a very shinobi-like landing pose, the small figure then stood up and leered across at the group of boys. With the hoodie of his orange vest pulled up, the child hid most of his gaze under the veil while a menacing grin formed across his lips. He then casually started to slog forward at a disturbingly zombie-like pace.

"Maybe I'll join you guys. Or better yet," Naruto hissed, his blue eye gleaming from underneath his hood as his footsteps came to a halt just a few feet from the group of youngsters, "How about we play a quick game of ninjas instead? All six of us… just like old times."

Staring at the newcomer oddly for a moment, Kaito and his friends didn't recognize the blond or his raspier voice. But after a moment of looking him over and noticing the whisker marks on his cheeks, the youngsters suddenly registered to the identity of the kid and quickly pointed across at him in shock.

"N-Naruto?" Hiko stuttered in surprise. "Is that you? What's with the creepy smile?"

"We haven't seen you since we changed classes," the boy with the short orange hair and scarf around his neck spoke.

"Where have you been this whole time?" Yochan asked curiously.

In response, Naruto tilted his head and slowly began lifting his left hand. "Oh… you know… training… reading… stalking the streets all by myself… the usual…" His eyes then became hidden by a dark shadow, as he continued to grin across at the youngsters without fear or hesitation. All he was reflecting was a strong sense of malice. "Today however… I saw you guys walk by on the street and decided that I wanted to follow you instead."

This comment had Yochan balk a little in confusion. "Huh? Why?"

Hiko then leaned across to his friend Kaito and nudged him in the side playfully before whispering, "Maybe it's because he's lonely." His remark caused his friend and the other boys to snicker amongst themselves, as they were well aware of the kind of person they were talking to. "Yeah. Poor lonely Naruto… who's always on his own and playing by himself, because he can't make any friends," he taunted snidely.

"Yeah… and he thinks if he hangs around with us that he might be able to make some," another of the children snidely spoke, before then smirking across at the blond, who was still looking at them rather ominously. "Didn't you say you wanted us to stop bothering you? That you were tired of playing ninjas because you hated being picked as the bad guy all the time?"

"You got really mad at us when we played and got sent to the headmaster's office. So we stopped asking you to join us."

"I changed my mind," Naruto replied quickly, cutting the boys off and causing them to look at the orphan oddly. "Now I really do want to play ninjas." Not even flinching in the slightest, the blond continued to look between the children with a wicked smile in play. "I want to… because I need you guys to help me become a _true_ monster."

It was at this point the five boys noticed something off about the way Naruto was talking. The way he was also looking at them, eyeing them like some kind of dangerous animal, also made them take a cautious step back, especially when his right hand lifted and formed into a knife-hand.

Kaito, being the one to fall under the boy's ire next, frowned and placed his hands on his hips coolly, "Uhh… why us?"

"You're all supposed to be 'big, strong, hero ninja of Konoha' right?" Naruto asked matter-of-factly, while at the same time lifting his head ever so slightly. When he did, he revealed his sharp blue eyes, which were both glowing with excitement. "The way I figure it… the more ninjas I defeat… the more people I kill… the more dangerous and monstrous _I_ become." A vein then appeared on the corner of the boy's temple, pulsing rather heatedly as he grinned the five boys down. "You five will help me become the strongest villain in the world."

Staring at the child in silence for a moment, the five boys had no idea what to say or how to respond. Even the girls who were listening and watching from behind were confounded by what the blond was saying. But then, after several seconds of silence, the five boys started to snicker. Their attempts to hold back their chuckles were rendered futile when, seconds later, Kaito and his friends burst out into fits of laughter. Two of the boys actually had to hold in their stomachs because they were laughing so hard.

"Hahaha! The strongest villain?! Really?!" Hiko cackled hysterically.

"That is so stupid! You want to become a monster, Naruto?" Kaito gasped, at the same time wiping away the tears that had formed at the corners of his eyes. "Haha. Are you serious?!" Considering how old all of them were and the village they were living in, it was easy to see why the five boys had such doubts.

Naruto however was undeterred. "Of course." Grin widening to the point that his fangs had become more prominent, the child then clenched his extended hand and spoke. "Here. Let me show you how _serious_ I am." Leaning forward, the youngster then ground his back foot into the floor before, in a blast of dust, he vanished from the children's view.

The next thing Kaito knew was his world going red as an orange blur appeared in front of him and smashed him in the nose. The attack knocked the Uchiha off his feet and sent him flying down the road. He then crashed to the ground two seconds later, tumbling several times before ending up on his side, where he then curled up clutching his face.

The scream of agony the child gave caused everyone in the street to turn and stare, with his friends looking on in disbelief as Naruto retracted his fist and straightened up. The orphan in the orange hooded vest with white trim then marched forward, ignoring the shocked crowd of children so that he could approach Kaito. Even the girls watching in the background were

Sitting up from the floor and pulling his hands away from his face, Kaito revealed his nose had been broken, courtesy of the punch that Naruto delivered to the spot directly between his eyes. With blood dribbling down his lips and chin, the stunned and terrified child then looked up to see the blond boy marching towards him.

"Y-You… hurt me…" Kaito stuttered, body shaking with fear as Naruto walked towards him. "Wh-… why did you… do that?"

Naruto chuckled, watching as Kaito began scrambling backwards along the floor as he drew closer. "What's wrong, Kaito? Aren't you having fun?" Clenching and unclenching his fingers, the child then began raising his hand again in preparation for another blow. "You're supposed to be the 'hero ninja' right? The Hokage? The strongest in the village? Come on… get up. Fight back against the scary monster ninja… before he kills you."

Eyes welling up with tears of fear, a terrified Kaito then called out. "H-Help! Help me! HIKO! YOCHAN! GUYS!" He shouted at his friends, who quickly responded to his plight and began to rush forward.

The grinning Naruto then snapped around, hand still extended as he prepared to confront the four boys now running towards him from behind. "Reinforcements, huh? That's fine by me! I'll kill all of your annoying buddies too, dattebayo!" Upon wheeling around, he cocked his arm and hand, and prepared to attack. "DIE!"

Just as Naruto was about to lunge towards his new attackers, a loud 'WHAM' filled the air as the orphan was suddenly blindsided by a kick, which smashed into him from the right and sent him flying towards the side of the road. Performing a flip and slamming his feet and hand into the ground, the blond slid to a stop and looked up through the dust with a surprised look on his face.

"What?" the youngster murmured, ignoring the bruise on his cheeks and the blood that trickled down from his nose.

When his eyes landed on the spot he'd previously been standing, Naruto saw a tall, eleven-year-old Uchiha boy, with short black spiky hair, wearing a black jacket with a white fur collar, and dark blue pants, glaring across at him with his fists clenched. He was also accompanied by two other Uchiha clan members of the same age- a girl with long brown hair and a boy with his black hair combed back- who'd apparently run out of the same house to investigate the commotion.

Expression cold and serious, the older boy eyed the blond as he stood protectively beside the fallen Kaito. "You hurt my little brother. You're going to pay for that, you first grade brat."

The younger Uchiha, who was also surprised to see the older boy, stammered nervously. "K-Kenzo-niisan?"

Noticing that the older boy had a Konoha forehead protector worn over his brow, the slightly dazed blond then put on a new grin as his eyes dilated eagerly. "A Genin?! A REAL NINJA?! HYA-HA-HA! And an Uchiha too!" He then stood up quickly and clenched his fists at his sides, at the same time watching the older boy start marching towards him angrily. "I caught a big one! Now I'm pumped! I'm guessing you must be-" He was unfortunately unable to finish his cheerful exclamations.

About halfway through his question, Kaito's older brother suddenly pulled out a couple of paper balls from his pocket and threw them at Naruto. They exploded in front of his face in a series of large puffs, choking the entire area with white smoke that swallowed up the blond. When Naruto found himself surrounded by a wall of white and unable to see anything else, a shadow suddenly shot through the cloud and struck him square in the chest, sending him into the property wall standing a few feet behind him.

Naruto's body crashed into it with a loud 'thud', knocking the wind out of his lungs and causing him to spit up. After that he then proceeded to slide down the side of the barrier- his legs giving way beneath him and his body starting to crumple under his own weight.

Seeing Kenzo fly through the smoke to punt Naruto into the wall like a practice dummy drew a round of cheers from the observing boys. While Yochan was swinging his fist about in circles above him, Hiko had his hands in the air and was laughing raucously.

"Did you see that?! Kenzo knocked that idiot Naruto right into the wall!"

"That was _so_ cool!" Yochan exclaimed immediately afterwards, at the same time looking over at Kaito to see their strong leader sway from side to side as he slowly got back to his feet. "Your brother is so strong, Kaito! He's completely kicking Naruto's butt!"

"Yeah! Now that punk will never mess with us ever again!" another of their friends shouted.

Unfortunately, their celebrations were not to last. Almost as soon as the last remark was made, the seemingly beaten Naruto suddenly stopped himself from sliding down the wall and sprang back to life, leaping through the air and performing several impressive flips and tumbles. Upon which he then landed with a light 'thump' in the middle of the road several yards away from Kenzo and the crowd of cheering children. Their cheers being silenced, the boys and girls standing nearby looked upon the still-conscious Naruto in shock- his body hunched over, covered in dirt, and blood dripping from his mouth.

Understandably, when they saw the boy jump from the wall in such a graceful and controlled manner, the other two older Uchiha children who had followed Kenzo out of the house, stared at the gutsy blond in surprise.

"Uhh…" the brown haired kunoichi with the ponytail, and wearing the deep pink kimono gi and fishnet armour murmured warily, "He's still standing."

"How? That runt got sent flying into a wall by Kenzo's elbow," the other Uchiha boy with the combed back black hair and wearing the black shirt and arm guards stated. "He should be running home crying by now. But he's not."

"Maybe he's just acting cocky," the girl added with a shrug.

Narrowing his eyes on the child standing in the middle of the street, the calm and collected Kenzo couldn't help but feel a rather unsettling feeling come over him.

It wasn't the fact that he had just kicked a kid who was about half his size and age twice in a row. No. It was something else. Something about the way the kid was acting and the way he was moving. Even after taking a flying roundhouse kick to the face and an elbow to the solar plexus, the child was still able to perform an acrobatic jump back into the middle of the road without showing any signs of being dazed. What's more, even though he'd taken two incredibly hard blows, he was still able to hold it together without breaking down.

"_This is strange,"_ Kenzo thought, watching as the blond orphan swayed on the spot for a moment before slowly turning around to face him. _"I hit this kid twice and he's still not on the ground. Why isn't this over yet?"_ When the kid stumbled a little, everyone thought he was going to keel over. But when the blond with the hood pulled over his head craned his gaze upwards, the older Uchiha brother frowned. _"Wait… is he…"_

Lips curling upwards, the battered Naruto then gave a smile- brow furrowed and eyes overshadowed by his hairline. This combination of effects and expression gave an otherwise adolescent and seemingly unremarkable child an incredibly fierce and overpowering glare. It was almost like Kenzo was looking into the face of a vicious beast.

"_Is he… even human?"_

OOO

(Meanwhile)

(Twelfth Training Ground)

While the brawl between children was taking place back in the Uchiha Clan compound's back streets, things were a lot quieter out in the fields and forests of the village's training estates. At least that's what it seemed like at first to the ANBU kunoichi leaping through the high canopy of the wooded area.

Purple hair trailing behind her as she sprang from branch to branch, the mysterious woman bearing the symbol of the leaf's elite unit and wearing a porcelain cat mask to conceal her true identity, made her way across the training field at a brisk pace. Judging from the manner in which she was moving and staying fixed to a single path, there was obviously a reason for her presence here. This was clear from how she had her eyes set on the tall, rocky plateau she could see protruding through the gap in the trees ahead of her.

As she closed in, the woman's head then shot up when she suddenly saw a white flash of light shoot up from the mesa's peak and straight up into the sky, causing her to stop for a moment when she saw another one follow it moments later. Puzzled and mesmerized by the sight of the bolts being thrown up into the clouds, the kunoichi then pressed forward until she was climbing the very plateau the anomaly was originating from.

When she arrived at the top, the masked-woman found another figure standing in the middle of the rise, the apparent source of the energy flashes being flung up into the troposphere, and a second one crouching nearby. On closer inspection, the purple haired woman saw that the first person was a young woman with raven black hair with smooth ivory skin and adorned in an ANBU uniform much like her own, and that the second figure was another woman with black hair cut in a Bob-style, wearing a black, high-collar top exposing her midriff and black spandex shorts, along with a belt fixed with two large pouches on the back.

What's more, both their uniforms had the Uchiha Clan symbol on the backs, indicating which family they belonged to.

Eyes turning to the figure in the middle, the purple haired ANBU agent watched and listened to the female figure take a deep breath, close her eyes, and take a moment.

Seconds of concentrating later, she then opened her lids to reveal a pair of red eyes spinning between, which quickly morphed from its common three-tomoe arrangement into three arrowheads spinning around one another, with a black circle at the end of each mark.

"Target?"

The woman crouching alongside her nodded, her own eyes open and revealing a pair of red eyes of her own. These however didn't contain the same impressive pattern that her counterpart had, and instead had three tomoe circling each of her pupils. She then fixed these eyes on the skies above. "North east. One kilometre across… black rock with the crystal formation on the right side and the large crater sitting on the equator. A hundred and forty klicks out… drifting west. It's a big one."

The standing woman nodded. "Got it." She then clenched her fists and quickly expelled chakra from her body.

On cue, a white flame-like aura burst from her body, enveloping her before expanding at an alarming rate. In the blink of an eye, the Uchiha ANBU's body was surrounded by an enormous, white spectre the size of a Biju, which grew to tower over and almost completely encase the plateau, and all three kunoichi standing on it. Bearing the characteristics of a samurai, the glowing white giant, which had the body shape of a female, was wearing a geisha kimono with samurai armour plating, two swords sheathed on its shoulder, and a bow held in one of its four arms. It was also worth noting it had a pair of wings folded onto its back, giving the impression that this thing could potentially fly.

Even though the white figure was kneeling down on the mountain, its size was still immense, making it the biggest and most imposing thing in the area.

Upon achieving critical mass, the kneeling spectre held up its bow towards the heavens and drew back on the string. The result was a white mass of volatile chakra building between its fingers, quickly taking the form of an arrow that sat comfortably atop its thumb. Once the weapon was pulled back completely and the arrow had gathered enough energy, the woman controlling the titan of chakra armour narrowed her eyes on the sky above.

"Remember to adjust for the rate of the Earth's rotation," the woman kneeling nearby cautioned.

In response, the Uchiha ANBU manipulating the spectre smirked. "I know." Then, with a flash and a rush of wind, she launched her building-sized bolt into the heavens. The chakra arrow shot into the sky, cutting through the clouds and causing them to part. With a flight time of several seconds, the round continued climbing through the stratosphere and all the way up into the thermosphere.

Moments later, the two Uchiha were rewarded by the sight of a brief and tiny flash in the clear blue sky above, indicating the ethereal arrow had struck something.

"Direct hit. Target destroyed," the kunoichi on the ground sighed, giving her fellow clan member the signal to drop her _Susanoo_. "Nice shooting."

"Twenty-four for twenty-four. The old girl's still got it," the Uchiha ANBU replied, looking across at her companion as the white aura once emanating from her body vanishing on the wind. "Thanks for spotting for me, Ran-san."

"My pleasure," the Jonin replied, grinning as she rose up from where she was kneeling. "You're a deadly shot, as always, Mikoto. I'd hate to be the enemy shinobi that crosses the path of your arrows."

"Well… I can tell you right now that I don't plan on hunting ordinary ninja. I'm fixing to go after more dangerous game," Mikoto chirped. After which she then turned her attention to their unexpected visitor, who'd remained standing quietly at the edge of the plateau throughout the entire performance. Though the person had their face completely covered, the matriarch of the Uchiha Clan immediately knew who it was on first glance. "Hello, Yugao-chan. What's up?"

Standing at attention, the purple-haired kunoichi focused all her attention on the head female of one of the most powerful clans in the village. "Pardon my intrusion, Mikoto-san. But the Hokage sent me out here to inform you that an urgent matter has arisen and that he wishes to speak to you in person." When he saw the smiles fade from the two Uchiha women's faces, the purple-haired kunoichi then lowered her head gravely. "It's regarding… _that_."

"That?" Ran repeated in confusion.

Yugao clenched her fists. "Black Mist."

Hearing this code word come directly from the woman and had obviously been passed to her from the village leader himself, Mikoto's body immediately seized up. A serious look quickly coming upon her shocked visage, she then turned to Ran and nodded to her. "Round up the task force. We leave immediately."

Without needing to be told twice, the short-haired woman placed a hand over her chest and bowed. "Right away." The kunoichi then turned and took off, leaving the plateau in a blur of movement.

Once she'd seen her comrade off, Mikoto quickly turned back to Yugao with a grave and unflinching expression. "Take me to Hokage-sama's office. Now."

OOO

(Meanwhile)

_**WHAM!**_

Another loud punch echoed across the street as the battered Naruto was nailed in the chest by a low body shot from Kenzo, which caused him to spit up spit and blood as he was sent skidding across the floor. When he ground to a halt a few feet later, he hunched forward and gasped in pain, at the same time his cool opponent lowered his arm and stepped out of his fighting stance.

The Genin then held his ground, at the same time his two cousins, his younger brother, and the groups of other kids continued watching in the background. By this point in time, a much larger crowd had gathered to the scene, as a couple more adults and elderly came out from the surrounding homes to see what the commotion was.

Despite the one-sided beating that was taking place, the group of boys were cheering like there was no tomorrow.

"Another punch!" Hiko cried out.

"Get him, niisan!" Kaito yelled as well, raising a fist in the air and grinning widely. "You're the best!"

"That idiot Naruto will never be able to keep up with a real ninja!"

Standing side-by-side while the younger children next to them continued shouting in delight, the two Uchiha Genin, Sayuri and Takuma, were observing the scene with their arms crossed and hands on their hips respectively. Judging from the calm and bored looks on their faces, they knew that their cousin had this match in the bag, and were now just waiting for his opponent to clock out.

"Hmph. As I expected. That little runt was acting like such a bigshot at first, but now look at him," Takuma said, eyes narrowed as he watched the slumped-over blond cough out a bit more blood. "He's totally getting wrecked."

"Kenzo is taking it easy on him… but he's still coming back and asking for more. Honestly, it's starting to get a little sad," Sayuri answered, breathing a sigh as she then lifted her head and frowned. "This fight is just about over."

Nodding in agreement, Takuma lifted a hand and waved to his cousin. "Hey! Kenzo! Stop playing around and finish him off already so we can go back inside!"

Kaito's brother however wasn't listening. He was too busy glaring at the orphan he was currently 'fighting' and watching him stagger about like a tiny drunk. So far he'd done a real number on the youngster, as not only was Naruto bleeding heavily from both nostrils, he also had blood dribbling out of his mouth and a cut in his hairline, which was causing more red to run down the side of his head. On top of the swollen right cheek and forehead, it was honestly not a pretty sight.

It looked like someone had taken a sledgehammer to his face and attempted to cave it in.

Based on judgement alone it was easy to say that Kenzo was now ready to wrap this up and was now using a col expression to try and scare his opponent off. But in reality, it was a lot more complicated, as the Uchiha was at a bit of a loss over what was happening.

"_He's human… there's no doubt about it,"_ Kenzo thought, seeing the kid sway on the spot as blood trickled down the front of his jacket and onto the floor. _"But…"_ At that moment, he suddenly saw the child in the hoodie look up at him and grin through bloody teeth.

All of a sudden, the older Uchiha boy took a wary step back when he was suddenly hit by a dark and overwhelming presence. This feeling was so overpowering and so potent that Kenzo swore he could see the spectre of some unknown demonic creature appear over the blond- its white eyes and toothy grin moulding with the child's aura, and seeming to emanate off of him like a supernatural force. Despite his diminutive size, small stature, and battle-wrecked condition, through Kenzo's cool gaze, the seven-year-old orphan looked ready to destroy him.

As a result, a bead of sweat ran down the side of Kenzo's face.

"_Why do I feel like… I should get rid of him now?"_

He was almost tempted to reach for a kunai or blast him with a jutsu. However, after several more seconds of staring one another down, Naruto suddenly coughed up more blood and almost keeled forward, shaking off the otherwise haunting phantom he was producing.

"Come on, Kenzo! Beat this brat," Sayuri called out.

"Yeah! Knock him out, niisan!" Kaito shouted.

Finally registering to the calls and cheers of the children, the Uchiha Genin turned around and spoke. "No, guys. That's enough." Seeing them all quiet down, Kenzo quickly explained his reasoning. "I'm not going to fight him anymore. I didn't become a Genin to get into street brawls with punks and little kids. I'll only end up smearing the good name of our village and the symbol I wear." Upon seeing his adolescent brother drop his arms and hang his head, he then turned back to the bleeding orphan he was beating on and narrowed his eyes. _"Must be my imagination."_ With one last consideration of the child, the Uchiha then spoke to him, drawing his attention. "Listen up, you. If you've learned your lesson, never hurt anyone again."

An expression of surprise appearing across Naruto's bludgeoned face, the child then gave a quick glance from Kenzo, to his two friends, and then to the kids watching behind him. He even spared a look at the worried people now watching from the surrounding homes. After that he then exhaled in disappointed and turned around. "Fine…" He then proceeded to slog away, with each step he made making it appear as though he was about to fall over. "I'm leaving now. Sorry for causing trouble," the child rasped in a sincere sounding voice.

And that was the end of that.

Or… so everybody thought, until Naruto suddenly spun back around, causing blood to fly off of his face as he shot a vicious and very angry glare back at the children behind him. A loud hiss then left his bloody lips as his hands clenched tightly into fists. "_**NOT!**_ I'm still gonna kill all of you!" His shout caused the girls behind the crowd of boys to recoil fearfully, with the young Rea blinking in surprise at the boy's fearsome gaze.

A split second later, Naruto's eyes widened when he suddenly saw a fist flying at him.

"Yeah. That's what I thought," Kenzo's voice filled his ears, just as his knuckles slammed into the blonde's face and proceeded to tear across his cheek like a hammer. "You're nothing but trouble… so I'm taking you down before you get out of hand." With this punch, the Uchiha planned on knocking the kid unconscious and dragging him back into the village. Hopefully the Hokage would know what to do with this unruly upstart.

However, as he would soon find out, a clean victory was not going to come easy for Kenzo.

Just when it seemed like the Genin had won, a flash of pain suddenly shot through Kenzo's skull when something small, fast, and heavy smashed him square in the face. This caused the boy's head to snap backwards and a deafening 'crack' to fill the air. Blood also flew out of his crushed nose and clouded the air, as what looked like a palm delivered straight down his centre line from below struck him directly between his eyes.

As it so happened, the moment Kenzo's fist made contact with Naruto's cheek, the blond had managed to throw a counter at the last second; their attacks hitting at virtually the same time. The only difference was that the orphan's thrust was deeper and had far greater piercing power, as he was able to step in close while allowing the older boy's fist to graze off of his cheek.

Kaito, his friends, and the other Uchiha watching from the sidelines could only gape in disbelief, as they completely missed what just happened.

But it wasn't over yet.

"_Oops…"_ Upon seeing Kenzo begin to stumble away, a completely reenergized Naruto then took on an entirely new stance, one that none of the people in the street could comprehend or identify. His feet set wide, posture hunched forward, arms curled back, and fingers pointed downwards, the orphan assumed a very predatory and insect-like stance, which matched the incredibly feral grin now redrawn across his mouth. _"I just used __**Tanglangquan**__ (Preying Mantis Fist)."_

The moment he assumed his foreign stance, Naruto suddenly bolted forward in the form of an orange flicker, his hands transforming into a blur of movement as he unleashed a blinding and unrelenting string of attacks upon his foe. Mantis jabs, finger strikes, and palm thrusts then rained down upon the stunned Kenzo from seemingly all directions, his face and body being pummelled like a veritable punching bag. Though it seemed like the orphan was just firing off attacks at random, every single one of his blows was targeted and focused on every single vital point he could see- particularly the joints and the centre mass.

As the stunned Kenzo was racked by merciless piercing blows, the attacking Naruto simply grunted with every attack as he pushed and thrashed the boy towards the roadside wall. _"I haven't finished polishing up the techniques for this fighting style and wanted to avoid using it so early…"_ the blond thought, watching blood fly from Kenzo's face as he mashed it in with more palm strikes and jabs. Naruto then gave a mental shrug and followed-through. _"Oh well. No need to be __**picky**__."_

After marching forward for several more feet and delivering a final barrage of blows, Naruto then finished off his combination with a piercing right palm strike, which hit Kenzo from up high and nailed him into the roadside wall. The act of which slammed the kid into the barrier hard, cracking the surface of the wall and causing bits of plaster to fall free. Even the observing Sayuri and Takuma were shocked by the sudden development.

The moment he was driven into the wall, Kenzo dropped to his knees, bits of plaster crumbling onto his shoulders as his opponent hopped back with his hands up. Vision blurry, the Uchiha youngster then glared up with one eye, as the other one had blood trickling down it from the wound above his brow.

"_He… hid his true strength?"_

Clenching his fists, the still-standing Naruto then gave a loud, boisterous laugh as he looked down at the obviously wounded boy with glee. "HA! A Genin of Konoha on his knees in front of me! This is awesome, dattebayo!"

Huffing, Kenzo then proceeded to push himself back to his feet, unable to stop his legs from shaking due to the damage. "Hmph. Don't be ridiculous. I was just a little surprised."

"Ah-ha-ha! Really?" Naruto cackled, before then pointing down at the fallen Uchiha as he stood over him, a feral grin remaining plastered over his bloodied face. "Then I'll surprise you some more. Just sit there and watch… as _The Monster_ Naruto Uzumaki wipes the floor with your little brother and all his friends!" Dropping his arm, he then turned about and focused his attention on the children watching from nearby, all of whom took a step back when they saw him start to approach. "Come on. Let the massacre begin!"

"No! W-Wait!" Kenzo shouted, scrambling to his feet and holding out his hand. "Don't touch them!"

At that moment, a shadow fell over Naruto from the right when, darting forward from where he was standing, Takuma came lunging in at the boy to grab him. "That's enough, you damn brat! Stop!" With the speed he was moving, it looked like he was going to catch him easily.

Instead what happened was the blond stepping back at the last moment, dodging the boy's lunging hand and kicking his foot out from under him. When Takuma fell, he only just had enough time to give a yelp of shock before Naruto grabbed the back of his head, used his momentum against him, and slammed his face into the floor with great force. The child then pulled his attacker's head back and drove it into the ground a second time, repeating this step over and over again in a blur until he'd managed to hammer a shallow, face-shaped divot into the surface of the road. By the time he did, the previously flapping and flailing Takuma's body went still.

Once he was sure the kid was out cold, Naruto then brought Takuma's face up for the others to see, showing off the Genin's crushed nose, swollen eye, and the blood dribbling down his face. A blank and rather frightening look then came over the blond orphan's face as he stared down the crowd of stunned children.

"See this?" Naruto asked while shaking the obviously unconscious Uchiha like a ragdoll. "Now it's _your_ turn."

"NARUTOOOOOOO!" Kenzo screamed, finally leaping to his feet and lunging at the boy with a punch aimed for the back of his head. He swung out at him just as the blond dropped his out-cold friend, only to miss when the orphan moved his head at the last second and threw a back fist over his shoulder.

The child's knuckles hit Kenzo squarely in the face, caving it in and sending the older boy tumbling back and into the floor. When he crashed there seconds later and formed a crumpled heap in the dirt, a fully awake Naruto grinned murderously.

"I study martial arts every day… so I'm on to your fighting style." He then looked briefly back at the fallen Kenzo, who he could see was lying out cold on the ground. "You thought you had me beat before… but all I was doing was fighting using those pathetic katas they teach everyone at the school. Guess I don't need them after all." With that said, he focused his attention on the crowd. "I'm done with you, Kenzo. Now to clean up _you_ lot."

Seeing the child beginning to march towards them, Kaito panicked, while Sayuri took a fighting stance and prepared for combat. Hiko and the two other members of the school gang quickly marched forward and took fighting stances. Even though they'd just watched Naruto flatten two Genin one after the other with his bare hands, they were confident that if they attacked together that they could gang up on the blond like they usually did and beat him.

"You dirt bag!" Hiko shouted.

"You think you can beat all of-" one of his two companions started to yell.

Neither of them were able to make good on their threats, as a split second later Naruto's body became a blur, before all three of them were hit by what they mistook for a series of flashes. When it was over moments later, Sayuri, Yochan and all the other Uchiha watching from the sidelines watched in bewilderment as the three children collapsed to the floor, their bodies riddled with bruises, and palm and knuckle prints from the swift beating they were given.

When they dropped, they revealed Naruto crouching over them- his arms crossed over the bottom half of his face in a very aggressive and savage _Preying Mantis_ fighting stance. His assault on his three schoolmates had been so quick and so vicious that when he stopped moving, his hands looked like they were smoking.

After seeing the three seven-year-olds collapse to the ground, one of the two teenage boys from the park thought it best to intervene. Rushing forward, he then attempted to grab Naruto and restrain him, only to watch the small blond spring out of reach, land against the roadside wall they were fighting alongside, and crouch against it like a cat. At first it seemed like Naruto was going to spring off of it and escape, but instead the little martial artist held onto the barrier with his fingers, using the groves in the plaster to suspend himself several feet off the floor.

"Damn monkey!" Chasing after him, the Uchiha teen then leapt up and attempted to kick him off, but missed when Naruto lowered his body and hugged the wall. "Huh?" The instant his attack missed, he was then smashed across the face by Naruto jumping off the wall and driving an elbow into his cheek. He was hit with such force that he literally flipped backwards before crashing to the ground, where Naruto then landed gracefully with a wild grin in play.

The crouching blond then glanced to his left when he heard a scream and spotted Yochan rushing at him with a haymaker. "You damn monster! I'll stop you!" The moment he swung at the child, he received a palm strike to the face from Naruto as a counter, which knocked his head back, broke his nose, and sent him toppling to the ground. When he hit the floor, the boy immediately curled up and wailed, clutching his bleeding nose in agony.

Almost immediately afterwards the Genin kunoichi Sayuri jumped in, swinging out at the child with attacks of her own. Gritting her teeth, the Uchiha girl watched the diminutive blond slip around her blows using deft bodywork and impressive footspeed. Due to his size and speed, it was easy for him to dodge the taller girls attacks, who quickly grew frustrated when she saw him spring away to avoid her kick.

"I'm not done yet!" the girl shouted, her eyes lighting up red as a pair of Sharingan spun into life, with each of her eyes containing two tomoe. Sayuri then came lashing out at him with far more accurate punches and kicks, chasing after the blond as he ran a circle around her. When he stopped, the brown haired girl in the deep pink kimono struck. "Got you!" She then swung at him with a hook, watching him duck it and prompting her to swing back at him with the same arm.

This turned out to be her mistake as Naruto promptly caught her limb and kicked her forward foot out from under her. Sayuri then dropped to her knee when she was yanked forward and, just before she could respond, the blond struck at her neck with a Mantis Jab. A loud 'crack' then rang out as the kunoichi's head was cocked to the side, the girl gasping in shock as her entire body seized up and lost all feeling, before she promptly collapsed to the floor like a puppet whose strings had just been cut.

As she lay there, sprawled out on her back, the temporarily paralysed Sayuri stammered in disbelief. "I… I can't… move…" Her muscles twitched as she attempted to get some life back into them, but to no avail.

Naruto smirked at the stunned kunoichi, proud that he was able to remove her from the competition. Upon which his head then snapped towards Kaito, whom he saw stumble away fearfully when the blonde's blue eyes landed on him.

Noticing he was the last one, the young Naruto gave a light-hearted laugh and proceeded to walk towards him. As he did, he quickly took notice of the group of four girls that had been standing and watching from nearby the entire fight, and saw that all of them were staring at him with a combination of awe and fear.

Since they weren't involved in this in any way, he had no reason to attack them at all.

Upon focusing his gaze on the curly haired Rea, the bloody-faced Naruto smirked at her. "Take a good hard look. You're about to witness the moment where a monster wins." Upon seeing the girl jump a little at his declaration, the blond focused back onto Kaito. Seeing he was only a few yards away, the child then smirked at one of the most popular boys in school. "Come on, Kaito. This is your last chance… give me your best shot… if you dare."

Hearing this caused a cold chill to run down the child's back. But then, upon looking around at his fallen brother and friends, the youngster then shot Naruto a frown. Sliding his feet out and taking a solid fighting stance, the Uchiha prodigy and gang leader slammed his hands together and flew through hand seals. The second he finished them, his eyes flew open and flashed red, as a pair of Sharingan with one tomoe in each iris spun into view.

"I'm going to be a great and powerful ninja some day!" Kaito shouted in a rage, ignoring his bloody nose as he glared the enemy blond down. "That means I won't lose… NOT TO SOMEONE LIKE YOU!" Inhaling sharply to the point that his chest swelled, the child then brought his fingers to his lips and took aim at Naruto, whom he saw leer excitedly and reset his stance. _"My brother taught me this technique… and now I'm going to use it on __**you**__!" _Upon gathering all the chakra he needed, the child reeled forward and belched out a ball of flames. _**"Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!"**_ (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique)

His attack expanded to an incredible size of five feet across and rocketed towards his blond opponent. The Uchiha watching from the houses all looked on in alarm, as they were expecting one of the young children there to use a fire jutsu in the middle of the street, let alone know how to use it. The attack lit up the area a bright orange, with the heat of the attack reaching the onlookers and all those lying scattered across the road in various states of consciousness.

Upon seeing his fire ball leave his mouth and shoot towards his target, Kaito thought that he'd finally won. But then, a split second after seeing his attack fly, he suddenly spotted a shadow dart under it and, looking down, saw the wild Naruto leering up at him from only a foot in front of him. The Uchiha boy's eyes widened in horror at seeing the blond right under him. Before he could so much as yelp, his entire world flashed black as his attacker chucked an uppercut and nailed him right in the chin, sending his body a foot off the floor before crashing back to the ground.

It was over before the fire ball jutsu faded away five yards later, leaving a road filled with unconscious and wounded children.

After taking down his last opponent, Naruto stood over the out cold boy with a smile, which was made menacing in appearance by the blood and bruises covering his face. "Ninjutsu and genjutsu are the weapons of cowards. A real man conquers challenges and fights their enemies head-on with their own two hands." Taking a deep breath to compose himself following his vicious string of violence, the youngster then went on to survey the rest of his handiwork, concluding that his job was well and truly done. When he then turned to his audience, he saw that everyone was gaping at him in disbelief.

The curly black haired Rea Uchiha, who was still standing at the head of her group with their kick-ball resting in her arms, couldn't help but inwardly gush at the blond in the hoodie. As a result, her eyes lit up and cheeks reddened when she saw him stretch his back.

"_This guy… is awesome."_

"Thanks. This was a real learning experience," Naruto chirped gratefully, reaching up and wiping the blood smeared across his face. Looking down at it, the blonde's grin widened as his hand started shaking with excitement. _"What a rush! I never thought I'd do so well… but all my hard work and training is finally paying off. After only one year, I've already become as strong as a Genin! Soon, if I keep going, I'll be able to take on multiple Genin… and then afterwards Chunin level ninja. Then, with even more training… Jonin!"_ He then lowered his arm and, turning around, prepared to march off._ "I can still become much, __**much**__ stronger! I can't wait!"_

Before he could leave, the orphan shuddered to a stop when, out of nowhere, six shadows jumped down from the building and surrounded him. Eyes widening under his fringe, the bludgeoned youngster quickly scanned around him and saw that he'd been encircled by a group of adult shinobi. Four of whom were members of the Uchiha Police Force and were wearing the clan's signature uniforms and armour. The other two were Chunin from another clan, adorned in the hidden leaf's standard issue tops, pants and vests.

All of them had their weapons drawn and all of them were glaring fiercely at the youngster, who merely looked around at them in momentary surprise.

Realizing that one of the people in the neighbourhood must have called for help, Naruto exhaled deeply before reaching up and pulling his hood off. "Damn. And I was just about to head home for a nice hot bath too." He then casually raised his hands above his head in a sign of surrender.

**TO BE CONTINUED…**

* * *

**Author's Note:** It was a long and gruelling one, but I managed it.

So far this chapter establishes Naruto's character, his motivations, and the methods he's using to achieve his goal. It also shows how he's training and how it contributes to his accelerated growth.

All Naruto is focusing on is his martial arts skill. By focusing all of it entirely on his close-combat skills, he's going to transform himself into the ultimate Counter-Shinobi, Anti-Ninja specialist, with techniques specifically designed to hunt and destroy other ninja- even ones as over-powered as Madara and Hashirama. And he's not going to do it like everybody else.

He's going to master different forms of chakra manipulation, master taijutsu not used by other shinobi (as shown above), and use unorthodox weapons (more on this later). This is just laying out the groundworks for the story to come.

Next chapter will skip past the Uchiha Clan massacre, which takes place on this same night, and will fast-forward to his graduation year from the academy.


	3. Uchiha Massacre Arc - The Anti-Ninja Pt2

**NARUTO**

_**Hankage**_

_The Anti-Ninja Part 2_

(Some time later)

It'd been somewhat of a rough transition from the village streets to the _Police Headquarters_ poised at the edge of the Uchiha Clan district- what with Naruto's reluctance to actually move with any haste or effort. But once the wily blond and his escort of half a dozen shinobi finally made it to the law enforcement base operated by _Konohagakure's_ most prominent clans, the orphan soon found himself lying atop a ruined futon and staring up at the mouldy ceiling of one of the facility's many holding cells.

After his little tussle with the kids in the street, Naruto had more or less expected to receive some sort of reprimand for his actions. Perhaps even a suspension from the academy and a punishment dealt by both the Head of the Uchiha family and the Hokage. However, what he got instead was a series of cold shoulders, glares and criticisms, as he was promptly stripped of any personal possessions and thrown into a jail cell. Though he didn't make any form of protest during the very abrupt procedure, he couldn't help think that this little 'timeout' in the corner was probably a little too harsh for a child.

Then again, he did end up sending a bunch of children and a couple of bystanders to the hospital, so he guessed this was kind of fair.

"They could've at least bandaged me up… or give me a glass of water," was the first thing Naruto had muttered after he'd sat himself down on the bed. Though he'd received quite the thrashing at the beginning of his fight with Kaito's brother, because of his natural durability, stubbornness, and abnormal recovery time, he didn't have to worry too much about the damages he'd sustained effecting him during his tenure in this building.

After the first hour had come and gone, the pain in his head and in the rest of his body had completely subsided.

And so, with the initial migraines dispelled, Naruto just sat there- confined to a tiny holding cell, surrounded by dry cement walls, with a tiny window in the uppermost part of the barrier being his only view of the outside world.

Figuring he had nothing better to do, Naruto spent most of his evening meditating, assessing his injuries, doing multiple sets of push-ups, sit-ups and squats, and exercising his control over the odd chakra he was now trying to master.

Things seemed to settle down for him after that. When night eventually fell, Naruto quickly found a comfortable spot on his cubicle's futon and lay there facing the ceiling. Getting antsy after about half an hour, he then decided to start re-enacting the events of the afternoon with his hands. Pretending they were puppets, he then had them talking to one another in a very dramatic and over-the-top fashion.

"I'm only going to give you this one chance," Naruto muttered in a low and exaggerated sounding voice resembling Kenzo's, using his left hand to squawk out the words to his right. "Go home… and never hurt anyone _ever_ again." He then turned to his right hand, which he had slumped over in an injured and seemingly defeated state. "Fine. I'll go," the blond replied in a wounded, gravelly voice and began 'walking' his hand away from the other, "Sorry for bothering you." A few seconds later, Naruto spun the right hand around and grinned. "NOT! _**BAM! BAM! BAM!**_" The blond shouted, at the same time slapping the left hand down with a series of swift finger jabs, before then pretending to squeal in pain. "AAAaaaahh- nooooo… I've been defeated…"

Honestly, he was actually starting to enjoy himself a little. That was until a long shadow from the corridor fell over him and blocked the light from the ceiling lamp.

This caused Naruto to throw out his hands in annoyance. "HEY! HEY! Asshole! You're ruining the show here!"

"Oh, really?" a girl's voice suddenly chimed in, causing the prone Naruto to blink in surprise. "From what I can see, it seemed like a pretty dull performance."

Rolling over and looking towards the bars of his cell, Naruto saw four children standing there in the faint light- all of them girls, all of them around the same age as him, and all of them staring right at him with mixed expressions of apprehension and curiosity.

Narrowing his eyes, the delinquent and villain-in-training did a quick scan of his visitors. The one on his right was a pale girl with long black hair and a fringe that completely covered her eyes, and was also wearing a distinct, thick, high-collared purple jumper. Obviously she was the meek, shy member of the group. The girl next to her was a proper, well-raised looking child with long brown hair tied into pigtails, wearing a very trendy grey and forest green kimono, with a white obi holding it closed, and wooden sandals on both her feet. The third girl and standing to his left was a noticeably tall individual with tanned skin, short blonde hair, and was wearing a white singlet and black shorts- a tomboy by any stretch of the imagination. And the fourth and final member of the group was a girl with black, curly hair with a fair complexion and a mole under her right eye. She was wearing a loose purple shirt with long sleeves and white shorts.

The one that'd spoken, the curly-haired one, was standing front row and centre of their formation, and was apparently the leader of their little troop. "Hello," she chirped.

"Umm… hi?" Narrowing his eyes on the group after his somewhat awkward reply, Naruto then stood up and approached the bars of his cell. "I remember you. You were there on the street when I fought Kenzo and his wet-lunch little brother. Rea, right?"

"Yep," the raven haired girl replied cheerily, at the same time slipping her hands behind her and puffing her chest out. "Rea Uchiha- member of the clan's 21st branch family. And you're Naruto Uzumaki, yes? Kaito's friend?"

The blond blew a raspberry, flexed his shoulders and stopped in front of the room's gate. "Well… I wouldn't exactly call us friends. More like… kids-at-school-who-know-each-other… or arch enemies… take your pick." He then scrutinized the other girls behind Rea a little more carefully. "Hmm… I think I remember seeing the rest of your friends as well… though I don't think I caught their names." Naruto stated rather bluntly, while nodding to the blonde-haired girl. "Who are you?"

The tanned girl with the light hair lifted her chin and spoke with a firm voice. "I'm Naomi. Rea-chan's sister."

"Sister?" Naruto murmured, taking note of both girls' appearances and the fact that the former didn't use the familial honorific in addressing the other. "Funny. The two of you don't look related."

"My parents died a couple years after I was born and Rea's mum took me in. I've been living in her house with her family ever since," the blonde-haired Uchiha replied. "Before that, I was a member of the clan's twenty-seventh branch."

After seeing Naruto give a nod of understanding, the curly haired leader of the group then pointed to the brown haired girl with the pig-tails and the kimono. "The well-dressed one over there is Imari- member of the thirty-fifth branch family." Rea then gestured to the last one, who lowered her head the instant the blond looked at her. "And the shy one over here is Yuno. She's from the thirtieth branch."

The girl in the high-collar jumper nodded in a very meek greeting. "H-Hello."

"Hello," Naruto replied, before once again giving his attention to all four of them. "Hmm… correct me if I'm wrong, but since all four of you are from the same clan, wouldn't that make all of you cousins?" Though they did technically come from different families, they all still shared the same bloodline and the same name.

"Uh-huh," Rea chirped proudly. "We're all related to one another in some way… though very far apart."

"Out of the four of us, only Rea's mum and dad are of Uchiha blood," Naomi added while gesturing towards her curly haired friend. "Inari, Yuno and I however only have one parent who is an Uchiha. But that doesn't mean we're not family."

"Okay. Fair enough," Naruto yawned while leaning forward and lazily hanging off of the bars of his cell. After looking at the girls for a few seconds more and checking the corridor they were in, the blond then broached his next question. In retrospect, it was probably the most obvious one. "How did you girls get in here… and _why_ are you here?"

"My dad works on the night shift in the police corps. Since mum is going away on an important mission with Mikoto-san, I decided to drop by to visit. Brought him dinner as well," Rea exclaimed, a statement which earned a nod from her step-sister Naomi. "My friends and I also wanted to see you."

"O-kay… but… why?" Naruto asked, finding the situation was growing more and more suspicious by the second.

What exactly did these four girls want with him? To badger him? Ogle him? Make fun of him? Assassinate him? Seeing as how he did beat the crap out of several of their relatives in front of an entire crowd of villagers, it wouldn't surprise him one bit if couple of them wanted some payback.

If they started throwing rocks at him through the bars, Naruto would completely understand their motivations. Though it such an act would definitely hurt, it wouldn't bother him one bit. That's why the young delinquent waited to see what the four were going to do next, at the same time keeping his senses and hands primed- just in case.

After staring at the imprisoned youngster for a moment longer, Naomi smirked and folded her arms in a thoughtful manner. "We've never seen a kid our age get dragged to jail before. You're probably the first boy from the academy in all of _Konohagakure_ to get arrested and locked up for doing something bad."

Her comment earned a slight scowl from the blond prisoner. "So… you mean to tell me that you four came all the way down here just to see what being locked up in a police station looks like?"

The still grinning Naomi shrugged. "Kind of."

Twiddling her fingers, the timid Yuno stuttered, "Y-You must have been pretty angry at those boys to start a fight with them in the middle of the street."

In response, Naruto shrugged, stuck his pinkie finger in his ear and cleaned it out. "Meh. That idiot Kaito and his friends had it coming."

Curiosity getting the better of her, Imari tilted her head at the child. "How come?"

Naruto gave the troop the most unwavering stare he could muster. "A few weeks ago our classes had a homework assignment, which was to write a poem about Konoha or our clans. We could use any form we wanted. I chose to do three haikus with altering subject matters and Kaito- being the show off that he was- chose to write a sonnet instead." The blond then tapped his chest with his fingers. "Now… I _love_ poetry… a lot. But even though Kaito got top marks from the teacher for his presentation, you should've heard the garbage that he wrote. The second stanza used paired couplets instead of an inserted rhyme!" The way he shouted that last bit caused the Uchiha girls in front of him to stare rather incredulously. "Surely you guys understand how deeply offended I was by that. So I decided the bastard had to pay."

After staring at the imprisoned delinquent for several moments, Naomi narrowed her eyes into a deadpanned stare. "Are you serious?"

Giving a wry grin in response, Naruto then shook his head. "Of course not. Even though I hated the fact Kaito got a better mark, the real reason I hate him is a bit more of a groaner." A sour look then replaced his smirk as he then looked away dejectedly. "To be honest, I'd rather not talk about it." He tapped his knuckles against the metal agitatedly. "A real bad guy doesn't have to explain his reasons or motivations to anyone."

While three of the girls looked at one another in confusion, Rea merely smirked and leaned forward. "So I was right. You beat up Kenzo and his friends because you _wanted_ to. Because it was all part of your training, right?"

The girl's inquiry on the matter had Naruto look at her strangely. "Uhh… come again?"

"We heard what you said during that fight," the Uchiha girl continued while at the same time gesturing to the youngster. "You also said it just now. Before you knocked Kaito on his butt and started stomping on everybody else, you told everyone that you wanted to become a true monster… in other words a really, _really_ bad guy. You fought all of those boys by yourself so that you could test your fighting skills and get stronger."

Kind of taken aback by Rea's sharpness, Naruto couldn't help but give her a glance over before smiling a little. "Hmm… I guess I shouldn't have made such a big show of it. But then again, what's the point of fighting if you're not having a little bit of fun?"

Rea smiled while propping her hands on her hips. "Well, after watching your bloody mashup this afternoon, I decided I wanted to meet the boy responsible for that whole mess and… you know… make nice with him." She then leant forward and grinned at the youngster. "A person who is tough, strong, and isn't afraid to get smacked around to win a fight. I gotta say, that's pretty damn cool."

"Heh. You haven't seen anything from me yet," Naruto chuckled back while matching the girl's smirk with his own. "Though I'd like to show you what I else I can do, I doubt you guys will stick around long enough to find out. Everyone I've met and spoken to so far has either chased me away or given me the cold shoulder."

"Well… I'm nothing like those morons." Rea said, leaning back and stepping into her friends' row once more, whom she noticed were watching and listening to their conversation. "I'm not a coward, a bully, or a bigot… so you can bet I won't run away." She then looked about at her group, before looking back at the imprisoned youngster. "Besides… I'd really like to learn a lot more about you and where you come from. That's the kind of person that I am."

"Hmm…" Naruto murmured, still not sure what this girl's angle was or what she really wanted from him. While his gut was telling him to be cautious, his heart- at least a part of it- was telling him that she actually meant well and didn't wish any ill intent upon him. Considering his past experiences with other kids and people in general, it was easy to understand why he was regarding Rea with some level of suspicion. After a great deal of thought, a smile broke out across his bruised face. "I'll think about it."

A long pause soon followed, in which Rea was unable to stop herself from rocking back and forth on her heels excitedly. The others girls remained for the most part silent and still, a mood that was eventually broken by Naomi when she gave the blond in front of them another inspection.

"You look like you got the crap kicked out of you," the tanned Uchiha chirped.

Blinking in momentary confusion, Naruto was once again reminded of the fact that he was still covered in various bruises and cuts. After reaching up to touch his cheek, the kid gave a slight wince at the stinging sensation that followed, before mustering up a small grin of amusement. "Heh. This? This is nothing. I've been through a lot worse in the last year, believe me."

Rea raised an eyebrow at him. "Really? How so?"

"My training is pretty tough," Naruto responded bluntly while leaning back and crossing his arms. He then shrugged, "I fall down a lot." His short explanation caused Naomi to snort and Rea to giggle.

Before anybody else could mount any sort of comments or questions, Rea and the other girls were suddenly interrupted by the arrival of another figure. The rasp of an adult male clearing his throat silenced any and all further conversation between the children, causing the cluster of youngsters outside the cell to back up when they saw a man dressed in a black and grey Uchiha Police Corp uniform standing in the hallway just a few feet away.

Having failed to hear his footsteps due to how naturally silent he moved, it was no surprise that a couple amongst the group jumped. Naruto and Rea on the other hand remained completely calm, with the whiskered boy's face crinkling with disapproval in anticipation of the encounter.

Moving towards the cell door with a wide stride, the male Uchiha with black hair combed to one side and carrying a sword on his back stopped before the children and gave the girls a hard stare. "What did I just tell you, Rea? Don't get too close to the bars."

The raven haired girl in question dropped her head under her father's stern gaze and tentatively ground her foot into the cement. "S-Sorry, papa. I was just… I really wanted to talk to him and I may have gotten a little bit carried away. I couldn't help myself."

"Hmm," the officer murmured while looking over the others. "While I'm happy you're taking such a keen interest in my job, you'll do well not to get too close to this one. From what I heard, this Naruto boy is incredibly mischievous, violent and dangerous- not the kind of person that I want my daughter associating with." His statement caused Rea to lower her head further in a manner akin to shame. "He's nothing but a bad influence."

"Uhh… you know I'm standing _right_ here," Naruto remarked from his side of the fence, causing the group of Uchiha to turn to him with an unhappy glare framed on his face. "I mean, it's not like I don't hear this kind of crap being spouted about me everywhere I go. But the least you can do is acknowledge that I'm actually alive. Geez."

The Uchiha adult quickly shot a look at the boy before snapping back in his direction. "You be quiet." His retort had Naruto raise his hands mockingly and take a step back, as if the act of the man shouting orders intimidated him. "It's bad enough that you were brought in here to begin with. To assault a group of kids and teenagers on the street- and in the Uchiha Clan compound no less? That is an offense that can't go on unpunished."

"Okay… so… _what_?" Naruto shrugged with a disinterested glimmer in his eye. "Are you gonna give me some sort of reprimand? A warning? Or are you going to tell me to 'mend my ways' and to 'think about what I did wrong'… because I haven't heard those two lines a thousand times already." The thought made him roll his eyes a little. "Come on. Give me something new to mellow over. Maybe even some constructive criticism, which, by the way, I'd like to give right now regarding some of the kids in your clan." In fact they didn't tell him jack squat. They just sort of cuffed him and chucked him into this cell the second they stepped into the building.

Hearing the blonde's attempt at mounting some sort of complaint only seemed to irritate the Uchiha adult even more, as noted by the officer's tightening scowl. Eventually the Jonin had heard enough of the boy's blithering and took a firm step towards him. "Another smart word from you young man and I'll have the boys tie a strait jacket around you and throw you into solitary for the rest of the night."

"Oooh… you guys have those here? Sweet! I haven't been wrapped up in a strait jacket before. I bet it can really restrict a person's movements," Naruto exclaimed, continuing to take the entire conversation in typical, delinquent fashion while shooting the man a wide grin. His act caused Rea and the other girls to giggle behind the adult's back, as he was clearly putting on a show for them. "But if you think I'm just going to stand here and let your mutts stick me in isolation for the next twelve hours, I'm afraid you're going to be in for a very long night."

Eye twitching, Takeshi then took a deep, steady breath to compose himself, before hitting Naruto with another hard glare. "I can see that you have yet to fully comprehend the seriousness of your situation." Stepping closer he allowed his shadow to fall over the blond standing behind the metal bars. "You are in Uchiha Clan territory… _**our**_ part of the village- far removed from any of the other clan compounds and their circles of authority. You have been brought into this station by our forces, charged with several counts of aggravated assault, battering, disturbance of the peace, property damage, and harassment. I also have multiple eye witnesses that claim seeing _you_ attack those children in broad daylight and beat them to the point that they needed to be sent to the hospital. That alone is enough proof to have you expelled from the academy." That last bit had Naruto's smile drop, which told the Uchiha that he'd finally hit the right note. "So while you're in here, I recommend you take some time to sit, reflect… and think of a way to plead your case to the Hokage tomorrow. That is… if you even get the chance."

Naruto said nothing. Instead opting to glare back at the Uchiha adult silently with his usual tight scowl. The tension between the officer and the young delinquent grew to such a level that even the girls standing nearby felt uncomfortable from just being there.

It quickly became clear to Rea and the others that the blond they'd taken such an interest in was in deep, _deep_ trouble. Much more than they were expecting. But while any normal kid from the village or the academy would be flipping out over his charges and losing their cool, Naruto seemed to be taking everything being thrown at him in stride. Hell, he didn't even look angry in the slightest. It was almost as if he'd been expecting to face this kind of consequence with his actions, and that even the most harsh threats thrown by Rea's father weren't even fazing him one bit.

Even so, that didn't mean the scene was in any way pleasant to watch.

In fact it was downright painful.

Grunting, Naruto crossed his arms and looked away. "Whatever. Not like anyone will care if I'm expelled or not."

Flinching a little bit at the blonde's reply, Takeshi then breathed a heavy sigh before turning his attention back to Rea and Naomi. When his eyes fell on them, his expression softened. "It's getting really late now girls. I think you two should run home now."

The tanned Uchiha girl nodded in understanding. "Yes, sir."

"What are you going to do now, papa?" Rea asked, her voice a little broken up due to the aftershocks of what they'd just heard. Expulsion? From the academy? If there were any harsher punishment for a kid their age, she hadn't heard of it yet.

And her dad worked in a police station, of all places.

"I'm going to head back to my desk and finish up my paperwork," Takeshi replied while slipping a hand into his pocket and nodding towards the cell. "Thanks to this ruffian, I've got an extra twenty forms to fill out by tomorrow morning, so I probably won't be home till-"

Before the man could finish his sentence, the group suddenly heard a loud _**bang**_ echo throughout the entire building, a split second before they were plunged into complete darkness. The sound caused the four girls to yelp and jump, with the Uchiha adult and Naruto looking up at the ceiling to see that all of the lights had gone out.

Crinkling his brow, the whiskered-boy looked across at the shinobi police officer. "What the heck was that?"

Takeshi clicked his tongue in annoyance. "Damn it. We must have blown a fuse again. I told that idiot Nasai to get those technicians from central to come in and check the-" At that moment the group suddenly heard a bloodcurdling scream fill the entire complex, causing the Uchiha to spin around and the children to freeze on the spot.

Eyes and ears opening wider than they ever had before, the group focused all of their attention in the direction that macabre noise had come from. It wasn't even five seconds later that the group then heard the tell-tale signs of battle echoing throughout the complex- metal clanging against metal, and the shouts and cries of men and women all over being cut down reverberating all about the building. At first it sounded like the chaos was taking place very far away.

But as the seconds ticked by, the noises started drawing closer and closer, indicating that whatever was happening had arrived on their level.

The sounds of the approaching horror caused the girls to break out into nervous sweats, with the timid Yuno stepping over and gripping Rea's shoulder fearfully. "W-What's happening?"

Rea instinctively looked up at her father, "Papa?"

Sharingan spinning into life, the shinobi in black took a brave and cautious step forward. "You girls keep quiet and stay here," Takeshi whispered, keeping his voice low as he reached over his shoulder and grasped the handle of his sword. "I'll go check that out. If you hear me cry out and things go silent, I want the four of you to run out the back door and don't stop until you reach the _Hokage Tower_. Do you understand me?"

"B-But," Rea stuttered.

"Do you understand me?" Takeshi hissed again- more sharply this time- at the same time looking back at his daughter with his red eyes blazing.

Upon hearing and seeing the seriousness reflected in the man's eyes, the raven haired girl gulped and nodded in response. The moment she did, the Uchiha officer then vanished in a blur, darting down the corridor at full speed before disappearing around the corner.

His departure left the five kids standing alone in the hallway, all frozen on the spot and unable to do anything. As the sounds of battle inside the complex slowly started to die down, the youngsters then began looking at one another nervously, with Imari turning to Rea with her hands clashing each other.

"W-What do you think is going on?" the properly dressed girl asked in a hushed voice. "Is the police station being attacked?"

The leader of their little troop shook her head. "I… I don't know." It was a fair question. After all none of them had ever heard the sounds of battle before.

The shock of the suddenness and consistency of it was enough to have the blood in all four of them run cold.

However, there was one among them who was not affected by it, and that was the plucky young delinquent standing inside the cell.

Taking a few steps back, Naruto then assumed a stance and spoke up. "You four. Get out of the way," he hissed, causing the four girls to look at him in alarm. When they saw him wave, they quickly did as he said and quickly moved out of his line of sight. The moment the air space was clear, the blond then positioned his hands above and below each other, and locked his index and middle fingers straight in a way no one had seen before. "I only just started practicing this fighting style last month, but I think I know enough to pull off this move."

He then inhaled and exhaled deeply, readying his body for what was to come. The moment his lungs were empty, the boy then spun his hands sharply in a circular motion. _**"Baoquan: Tie Xuanfeng!"**_ (Leopard Fist: Iron Whirlwind) What followed was the wind in front of him spinning at an accelerated rate, with the sudden increase in pressure causing a whirlwind of invisible energy that literally sliced through the bars of his cell in a whirlpool-like pattern.

A similar mark was carved into the cement wall on the other side of the hall, with a diameter of approximately ten feet across. The moment the sharp blast of wind dissipated a split second later, the bars standing in front of Naruto cascaded to the floor into bits and pieces, leaving a circular shaped hole large enough for a full grown man to walk through.

The sight of Naruto stepping out of his cell through the opening caused Rea and the others to gape in disbelief.

"H-How did you do that?" Naomi asked in astonishment.

A roll of his shoulder was Naruto's immediate response. "Practice." He then winced and looked down at his own hands, where the girls saw multiple cuts all over the boy's hands and forearms, some of which were bleeding and soaking through his jacket's sleeves. "Damn it. My body's still not tough enough to use those techniques with force. I need more training."

Seeing the boy shake off the wounds had Rea, Naomi, Imari and Yuno staring at him in awe, with the former even taking a deep breath of amazement. But she or the others could start gushing over how awesome that boy's display was, a loud, petrifying scream of a male echoed in the distance, causing all of the kids' eyes to snap down the corridor. The moment the person's cry ended, silence fell, along with a deep, sickening sense of dread and dismay.

This was enough to cause the terrified Rea to step forward. "P-Papa?"

"We have to get out of here," Naomi whispered quickly, at the same time grabbing her friend's shoulder. "Rea-chan…"

"I-I can't! Papa!" Rea said a little loudly, only for a hand to suddenly clamp over her mouth and her body to be pulled back. Looking over her shoulder, the silenced girl saw the serious blue eyes of Naruto looking back at her.

"Quiet," the boy hissed, before locking his glare on the room outside of the holding cells. "You guys sneak out the back way… quietly. Stick to the walls and the side roads. Don't let anybody see you. I'll go find out what the hell is going on over there." He then slowly removed his hands from the raven haired youngster, making sure she didn't make any more sounds, and briskly stepped past her. The moment he did and shoved her back, Naruto growled under his breath. "Go! Now!"

The moment he said that the four girls ran for it, as quickly and silently as they could. As soon as Naruto heard them disappear round the corner behind him and the click of the emergency exit opening, the blond sucked it in and sprinted silently into the building.

Though all his survival instincts were screaming at him to follow the girls and to get the hell away from whatever it was that was attacking the police station, his gut also told him to at least catch a glimpse of what was going on. As far as he knew, he'd just landed smack bang in the middle of a serious village situation- a terror attack meant to insight fear and chaos within the village itself. Only the vilest, most debase, and insane individuals would ever think to mount any kind of assault on _Konohagakure_, and on a well-armed law enforcement station no less.

Now, investigating the cause was all well and good. But Naruto, being an aspiring villain in training and future world tyrant, was unable to stop his ego from taking forward.

Somebody more villainous and murderous than him was attacking the Uchiha Clan's Police Headquarters. That was something his pride was not going to let go so easily.

OOO

(A few minutes later)

Further inside the Uchiha's security headquarters, past the front desk and the waiting rooms of the ground floor, carnage had been brought about to the once calm and quiet property.

The evening and night had been going so well for the men and women on duty at the station. With all their cells virtually empty and with no perps to round up or process, most of the officers that were on standby for the graveyard shift had all but resigned themselves to a full twelve hours of doing absolutely nothing. Prior to the sudden scourge that'd suddenly been brought down upon their place of work, most of the shinobi and kunoichi present had been hanging around the wreck room- eating late dinners and catching up on current events. The atmosphere had been so quiet and relaxing that some of them had even decided to take a well-deserved nap.

The only people who were up and about were those with paperwork that still needed to be completed, mainly the Chunin left over from the day shift and Takeshi, who'd been stuck at his desk for the better part of the afternoon.

Unfortunately for everyone there, the long night had taken an unexpected and bloody turn for the worst.

The officer at the front desk was the first to go. When he heard the door fly open and looked up from his game of crosswords in the newspaper, the Chunin was suddenly set upon by a shadowy individual in an orange mask with a black flame pattern. The long-haired spectre of a man cut him down with barely any effort, painting the wall red with blood before starting to massacre every single person in that building.

Room by room and floor by floor the phantom ventured, cutting down everything and everyone standing in his way. The Uchiha poised in the facility were quick to respond, mustering up their weapons and their forces in an effort to stop the man that'd entered their midst. A large group of them rallied in the main offices on the ground floor, armed and ready to stop the intruder with the full force of their reserves.

But as the shinobi and kunoichi quickly discovered, killing their invader was going to be a near impossible task. The second the first kunai and shuriken were sent flying, the officers were stunned into silence when they saw all of their weapons pass through the man's body as if he were nothing but air. When their projectiles embedded the walls and floor behind him, the assassin then set upon his attackers with a ruthless ferocity only ever witnessed in the most frightening of horror stories.

The man was like a monster from a nightmare- armed with nothing but a sword and chain that he used to cut through his targets like a veritable gory whirlwind of death. The shinobi and kunoichi scattered around the facility did their best to try and shut down his movements, engaging him in close quarters to see if they could break the impossible illusion of invulnerability he was casting over them. But no matter what they did or tried- swords, ninjutsu, genjutsu, taijutsu, explosives- everything either passed through the man or was effectively deflected without any effort at all.

What's more, in return for their efforts, the intruder dealt with the building's defenders in the most brutal ways imaginable. He sliced, cut, struck, impaled, and broke every single person he engaged, ending their lives in a shower of blood. Instilling them with a sense of fear before their passing was also something the intruder seemed to take great pleasure in doing, making all those who crossed his path experience the truest of terrors before everything went black.

By the time he reached the second floor, the man had pretty much cleaned house of all the police officers that'd been stationed on duty. He also made sure to cut out the power in the storage area by the entrance so that he could move about through the dark and the Uchiha on station couldn't see his face.

Not that they could with that one-eyed war mask he had covering his face.

Eventually after dealing with a very stubborn Takeshi and the two other Uchiha that were with him, the masked assailant then did a headcount of those he had slain. Remembering exactly how many people would be on duty from the information he received from his source within the compound, the man was certain he'd gotten everyone. But as extra precaution he performed a thorough search of the facility with his gaze and his senses to make sure he got everyone.

Not picking up any life signs inside the building, the man then slowly started to head for the entrance, sheathing his sword and the chain he kept concealed in his sleeve. Stepping over the bodies that lay in his path, he entered the large foyer with the front desk and waiting chairs.

However, just as he was about to reach the glass doors, a loud clatter of something wood dropping on the second floor and the distinct echo of hurried footsteps suddenly caught his attention. Calmly turning around, the man fixed his gaze on the balcony of the second floor above him and narrowed his eye.

"Hmm… there's another rat still alive?" the man whispered to himself in a deep voice. His form then turned into a black haze as it darted up the adjacent staircase in record time, before beginning his search for the source of the disturbance.

Picking up a trail of bloody footprints not too far from where he found a wooden chair lying, the man then followed it towards the back end of the facility. Passing by now empty offices and bathrooms, all of which were smeared with gore from the people he'd chopped up on his way through, he then happened upon a damaged wall with an overturned desk and body sticking through it from the other side.

A second hole in the ceiling where a blanket of insulation had fallen through was also hanging precariously in his path.

"Ah. He went through here," the man said, noticing that the now faded trail of footprints passed around the ruined section of the corridor ahead of him. The masked phantom then started towards the gap and ducked under the hanging sheet of roof padding.

That was when it happened.

The dangling sheet of insulation suddenly came loose and fell from its holding- much faster than it normally would- and draped over the assassin like a towel. Grunting in annoyance at having his vision blocked, the man prepared to draw a knife to cut through it, only to have a series of electrical wires from the collapsed ceiling unexpectedly snap around the sheet and ensnare him, trapping his arms and causing him to stumble backwards blindly in alarm.

"Gah! What the hell-?" Were the only words to come out of his mouth before a small body dropped down from the hole above and landed on top of his insulation covered shoulders.

Legs locking tight like a vice around his prey, the sneaky attacker seized his moment. "Surprise, motherfucker!" came Naruto's joyous shout before the child unceremoniously slammed a kunai he'd found right down into the assassin's head.

The intruder let out a muffled cry of pain when the blade buried right into his skull, a split second before Naruto drew it back and began hammering it into where his face was- _repeatedly_.

Naruto's opening assault was quick and vicious- the boy shouting at the top of his lungs as he slammed the knife over and over again into what felt like a plate of rock. A few strikes later and the boy successfully managed to break through the stranger's mask and started piercing flesh, blood quickly beginning to spurt out of the insulation every time he drew back his blade.

It was a very violent and at the same time comical-looking attack.

The bastard didn't even see it coming. I mean… who in the world would ever expect a kid to drop down on top of them with a sheet of thick, foamy insulation, bind them in wires, wrap their legs around their neck, and start stabbing them in the face with a knife?

Short answer: no one.

Anyway, after about two and a half dozen strikes and about a full minute of riding the stumbling assassin's shoulders about the corridor, Naruto was forced to jump off of his foe when a long sword suddenly shot out of the insulation near his leg. Avoiding being impaled and landing several feet away from his enemy, the blond then watched from his crouched position as the assassin tore away the sheet covering his body before drunkenly staggering into the nearby wall, which he slammed into and propped against with his arm.

Giving a triumphant grin at his very successful surprise attack, Naruto then did the wisest thing he could do at that very moment and legged it, sprinting down the corridor shouting, "Whoop-whoop-whoop-whoop-whoop!" His mark was made. Time for the second part of his master plan.

He needed to get the hell out of there while his opponent was still dazed and confused.

A low growl left the murderer's lips as the man wiped the copious amounts of blood away from his face, revealing his mask had cracked and shattered in several places from having the kunai rammed into it. Because so much of it had been destroyed, his face was no longer adequately concealed, revealing a somewhat good-looking man around his thirties, with a round face, and a pair of angry red Sharingan spinning in his eye sockets.

Well… one Sharingan. The one on his left had been popped from the knife slamming into his eyelid, effectively rendering that side of him blind.

Aside from the old battle scar he was also sporting on the entire right side of his face, the black haired shinobi also bore a series of freshly made puncture wounds to his cheeks, forehead, mouth and nose. It was quite fortunate that the blade didn't pierce any other vital organs in that area, though he did have a nasty gash next to his right eye lid, which was bleeding the most out of all his wounds.

To sum it all up, his unknown and very tiny attacker had gleefully reshaped his profile, and transformed it into a modern art masterpiece.

"Get back here… you fucking brat!" the man shouted in a very deep, raspy voice, at the same time ripping what was left of his face plate away and smashing it against the wall.

He had no idea exactly who attacked him- though it was clear it was not an adult. Whoever it was, they weren't going to live for very much longer. That was a fact that the black haired cutthroat could guarantee.

Normally for Tobi, an assault like that would've easily been avoided and countered. But because his body had already been in contact with the sheet and his field of vision had been blocked out by the insulation's density, he'd been unable to phase through/overlap with the surface or his attacker, like he did with his previous opponents when the youngster unexpectedly landed on top of him and started stabbing him.

Though it'd been a close one, the man made a mental note to himself not to get caught with his guard down like that ever again. It was a reminder that engrained itself into his mind and remained at the forefront of his gaze as he cleared his head, caught his breath, and sprinted after his target. Tracing both the path in the floor and the sounds of disappearing footfalls, the man's form transformed into a black haze as he chased after his elusive quarry ever deeper into the Uchiha Police Headquarters.

OOO

(Minutes later)

Escaping his foe following his daring attack was simple enough. Just haul ass as fast as your legs could carry you and don't leave a clear trail. This was why Naruto didn't opt for the straightest root down to the ground floor. In fact, not only did he bounce off the walls of the corridor he was following, he also managed to dive through an open vent shaft and follow it down to the ground floor. Not only did he manage to pull this off with speed and finesse, but also without making a single sound whatsoever.

After dropping onto ground level and looking around to make sure he hadn't been followed, the blond then tiptoed towards the main offices. Pausing beside a line of doors leading to other sections of the building, the plucky blond then gave thought to his position and surroundings.

"_Okay… now that I have the guy's attention, how am I going to get rid of him?"_ He then began studying the walls around him, at the same time sparing a moment of thought to what he'd gotten himself into.

After observing the mysterious intruder cut down the last two Uchiha left in the building in a rather incredible display of monstrous brutality from a distance, Naruto quickly proceeded to come up with the best way he could blindside the guy, and inflict as much damage to him as possible. The result of his brainstorm was him intentionally leaving a series of bloody footprints leading down a very dark and narrow corridor towards the back of the building- with a limited field of view brought on by a conveniently collapsed ceiling. What he then executed from that point after leading the assassin into the vicinity of his trap was the most 'ninja' thing anyone had ever done in the history of ninja… and he was training to be an anti-ninja for crying out loud.

Oh well. When you had very limited weapons and means at your disposal, as well as the odds completely stacked against you, there was no such thing as a dirty trick. Even though it did make Naruto feel a little bit disgusted at what he did.

But now was not the time to dwell on such trifle matters.

"_This cat and mouse game won't last forever. He's going to find me sooner or later,"_ Naruto thought. Even though the guy was wounded, he was also incredibly pissed off and would be looking to eviscerate his adolescent hide before the night was done. This premonition easily had the blonde's head revving, as he quickly thought of the most effective way to dispose of his foe once and for all. "_What would Madara Uchiha do in this situation?"_ It was almost a split second after thinking this that his eyes eventually landed on a sign hanging up at the corner of the hallway's T-junction, which stood out from the rest of its surroundings because of _where_ it was directing.

Blinking as he stared at the words for several seconds, a very mischievous and evil grin then broke out on Naruto's face, before he quickly took flight down the corridor as fast as he could. This path soon led him to an open door that then took him down into the building's basement level.

Upon arriving at the room on the bottom-most floor of the facility, Naruto found himself in a room that was stuffed to the brim with crates and stands. The room was also almost completely pitch black. Even a shinobi with the sharpest and most perfect eyesight would struggle to find anything in this room.

After feeling away around with his hands as he gaze slowly adjusted to the darkness, Naruto then began searching the floor for something. Finding exactly what he was looking for a few seconds later, the blond then started preparing for his eventual face-to-face encounter with his foe.

Moving a few crates and shelves about, as well as pushing a few back against the walls, Naruto spent the next few minutes wandering around in complete darkness, adjusting as much of the basement's storage arrangements as he could. He was making so much noise that it was almost impossible for his activities to go on unnoticed by the facility's intruder, who was probably still running about upstairs. However, this was exactly what Naruto wanted, as he then went about deliberately banging his hands against the crates he'd shifted.

Once he was satisfied, he then spun around. It was then, in the dim light of his basement environment, he saw the mysterious intruder literally walk through the wall across from him and enter the room. The sight kind of alarmed Naruto a little, but didn't keep him in a daze for long as he then threw the unmasked man a wide smirk.

"That's a neat trick," the youngster commented, before then narrowing his eyes when he noticed something else. "Sharingan? You're an Uchiha? Damn. That's a twist if I ever saw one. What? Did your captain kick you off the force and you decided to take your frustrations out on the other employees? Honestly dude, that's just sad." Reaching up with his finger, Naruto then prodded at his cheek observantly. "By the way, I think you'll want to go see a doctor about that. Your face looks a little bit cut and stabbed… like… a lot."

His one good eye twitching in annoyance at the brash youngster's sarcasm and teasing, the clearly still irritated intruder then took a step closer as he got a good, hard look at the person who'd attacked him. It only took a single glance over for him to study the youngster's blond spiky hair, whisker marked face and cool blue eyes, even in the dark of the basement they were standing in. But after comparing the child's profile and features to that of a face he'd encountered not that long ago, the assailant couldn't help but grunt at his sudden and rather ironic turn of good fortune.

"Well, well… I never expected to run into _you_ here… Uzumaki Naruto," the black haired intruder stated with a cool and unwavering voice, which was a stark contrast to his obviously aggravated mood. "Fate seems to be doing me a strange kindness this night."

Naruto tilted his head at the stranger in confusion. "You know me?"

"Of course," the dark-haired adult replied, at the same time stopping just a few feet from his target. "Those eyes… and that hair. Were it not for those unfortunate marks on your face, you would almost be the exact spitting image of your father."

This news had Naruto blinked, "My father?"

"Yes. He was a man possessing terrific skills and strengths in the shinobi arts, with a talent for ninjutsu that was surpassed by no other. He was a true warrior by any stretch of the imagination… and he was someone who gave me quite a bit of trouble the last time I was in this village." Due to the fact that he was blocking the only exit out of this place and that he was in such a close proximity with his target that he could easily cut off the youngster if he tried to run, the assassin was able to take a long, satisfying moment to enjoy a little verbal joust with the child before putting an end to their encounter. He expected it to be over in no less than five seconds. "I think it's quite amusing that after all these years of wandering the shadows and killing off useless dregs that I should find myself face to face with his son, in the basement of the Uchiha Clan Police Station… and in very similar circumstances."

"Oh. Well. The honour is all mine… _I guess_," Naruto replied, giving the man's words a careless shrug before subtly slipping a couple of shuriken between his fingers. "Does this little trip down memory lane have a point or something?"

"Yes," the shinobi answered with a stiff nod. "The last time I faced him, your father met his end through a very pointless and costly sacrifice… an act that- while noble in the eyes of his friends and loved ones- only served to prolong his inevitable failure." Holding out his right hand, the man flicked his wrist and drew the long sword he had concealed underneath. The weapon dropped into his grip with a loud whoosh of weapon, which caused Naruto to flinch when he saw the blade flash in the pale light leaking into the room. "I shall now finish what I started seven years ago… and reclaim the property that was once mine."

"Ha! I'd like to see you try!" Naruto shouted, before swiftly pelting the cluster of shuriken he had between his fingers. The stars arced through the air and flew towards the individual standing in the middle of the room. But just when they looked like they were about to impale their target, the weapons suddenly passed right through the man and struck the concrete wall behind him. The sight had the blond frown. "Well… that's just unfair."

A sick smile then formed on the scarred man's face as he slowly and methodically pulled the chain he had dangling off of the ground. "You did well in concealing yourself from my Sharingan… though I have no idea how you did it. But now that you're standing right in front of me, without any means of escape or flight, I'm afraid you've just run out of options." He then prepared to advance on his prey, as evident by his casual step forward. "Your mistake was trapping yourself in this dark cellar. Now… you've lost."

It was then, as Naruto watched the man take another couple of steps, a sly grin formed on his face. "Heh. Maybe you're right. Maybe I have lost." He then took a stance and leant forward, causing the man approaching him to stop and raise an eyebrow at the fighting pose he'd assumed. "But like my imaginary spirit animal always used to say to me, _why curse the dark… when you can beat the ever-living shit out of it!_" A split second later the child then bolted forward and charged right at the invader with a manic look on his face.

At first the assassin had no idea what to think. All he could do was stare in disbelief as the brave/stupid youngster ran right at him and leapt through the air with a yell of bravado. Narrowing his one remaining eye, the assassin suddenly threw up his free hand and caught the boy by his jacket's collar, stopping him mid-flight and throttling him six feet off the floor. When Naruto gagged in shock and grabbed the man's wrist, the long-haired, scar-faced murderer then scoffed in amusement.

"As much as I'd like to kill you for your little stunt, I'm afraid I'm going to need you alive," the man said, before widening his Sharingan and focusing it on the youngster. "It's over." In that instant, something weird started to happen.

The air around the assassin's eye suddenly became distorted by an unusual shimmer, which started to suck everything within its proximity towards it in a whirlpool-like fashion. What Naruto felt in the milliseconds to follow was his body starting to get pulled towards the spatial anomaly by an invisible force, giving him the sensation that he was being sucked down a drain pipe. A cold chill then gripped at every fibre of his being as he felt the irresistible pull of the black hole on his person. Somehow, through some jutsu that was far too advanced to replicate or execute, the man was transporting his entire being to a place it didn't want to go, but was completely powerless to stop.

Fighting against it was completely useless. The assassin knew this, as evident by the smile on his face as he quickly drew his target into the void of his eye. For the executor, he knew the fight was well and truly over, as his _Kamui_ slowly drew the boy into its cosmic singularity.

That was until, in that instant- through the distortion of air enveloping his target- the invader saw the struggling Naruto grin, hold up the middle fingers of both his hands in the 'up yours' sign, and blow him a kiss- before his head, hands, and the rest of his body unexpectedly disappeared.

Recoiling in shock when he saw the boy's head vanish inside his orange jacket, the black-haired killer's gaze then snapped downwards when he saw a shadow drop into the floor and disappear through a small hole, and the weight in his grip vanish. This was followed by a loud, taunting shout, which echoed up from the very bowels of the earth.

"SUCK MY FAT ONE!"

The assassin was then left in momentary stunned silence, as he hurriedly attempted to figure out how the hell the boy managed to escape the grip of his space-time jutsu.

Somehow, through great flexibility and sleight of hand, the blond delinquent had managed to trick him into grabbing him by the scruff of his jacket's collar rather than his neck. Because his jacket was so baggy and loose, the boy was able to slip out of his piece of clothing with ease and drop into what was apparently a storm drain- which had been installed in the basement to stop the area from flooding during the very rainy, monsoon seasons.

The grating around the pipe had been handily removed, allowing Naruto to drop into the hole unobstructed. While the space may have been too small for an adult to fit through, the hole was just the right size for a small, skinny child to slide into… though it was a very tight fit.

As far as escape plans went, that was pretty clever.

The sudden act of the child literally slipping through his fingers left Tobi feeling stumped, robbed, and perturbed. When he looked up at the empty jacket he was still holding, his immediate response was to glower. But that was until he caught a glimpse of an orange spark inside the lining of the windbreaker.

A closer look at the piece of clothing and the silent attacker saw that the inside of the jacket had been completely stuffed with Explosive Tags, all of which were crackling and burning away at the seals.

In that instant, the invader was hit with the full and terrifying realization of what he'd done.

When at first it seemed like the blond had inadvertently trapped himself inside the building's main cellar, what the blond had actually done was lure his pursuer into the Uchiha Police Station's main armoury. In the pitch blackness of the room, while they'd been talking to each other and facing off, what the assassin failed to spot were the boxes of explosive tags, paper bombs, paper mines, and cans of kerosene stacked up around the place like the contents of a glorified warehouse. There was enough ordinance and ammunition in this room to raze half the village to the ground, arm the entire Uchiha Clan, or deliver a decent twenty minutes worth of continuous explosions.

So, essentially, what the blond rat- the arrogant, irritating and devilishly clever little snot- had done, was lure the raven haired murderer into a building primed for a very loud and extended demolition session.

That thought only hit Tobi the second the jacket he was holding burst into flames.

"Oh, you son of a-"

_**KABOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!**_

OOO

A blinding flash of light covered the entire Uchiha Clan Compound, causing the surrounding estates, the land, the sky and even the Hokage Monument to turn white for the briefest of moments.

So bright was the anomaly that for a split second the people in the village thought a second sun had appeared in the sky and that the night had become day again.

It was only for a moment though, because a split second later a deafening roar of an explosion- the likes of which the village had rarely seen- erupted from the very edge of the Uchiha Clan Compound, exactly where the Police Station was standing. The facility of course, where the ungodly blast originated from, was unable to maintain its structural integrity as every inch of it was literally incinerated by what could only be described as a hundred thousand kilos of TNT all going off at once. Any chunks of the building blown clear from their foundations were sent soaring hundreds of feet into the air, and an orange, mushroom shaped cloud of flames and smoke shot up into the lower atmosphere.

All clouds hovering over the impact zone were instantly parted by the shockwave, which proceeded to travel across the sky for hundreds of miles.

But the force of the explosion didn't stop there. Not only was a massive crater blown into the ground where the police headquarters stood, but every single building within two blocks was reduced to rubble. The shockwaves stretched across the entire district, knocking over fences, felling trees, and shattering windows all around.

Rea, Naomi, Imari and Yuno, who were sprinting out of the compound towards the bustling streets of Konoha's market, were knocked stumbling to the ground from the blast of wind that hit them from behind. When they looked back towards their family's neighbourhood to see what'd happened, they gaped in awe when they spotted the enormous fireball rising into the sky and filling the stratosphere.

Across all of _Konohagakure_ and in the townships beyond, villagers still out and about, wandering the various boulevards and clubs, all stared in abject shock at the glowing inferno piercing the heavens above. The explosion was of an impossible magnitude, almost akin to a Tailed Beast Ball going off in their midst, a spectacle that'd not been witnessed for close to a decade now. What's more, multiple explosions seemed to climb the plume of flames, ravaging the very sight where the detonation had taken place and further ripping the land below asunder. The sight was both captivating and terrifying at the same time, causing everyone in sight to freeze where they stood.

It was like the Gods themselves had reached down with their hands and struck the land with the full force of their vengeful might.

While things down in the main streets were slowly spiralling into chaos, up in Konoha's administration district, Hiruzen Sarutobi, having previously been in the midst meditation, could be seen standing at his window, gaping across at still combusting mushroom cloud, smoking pipe in hand and eyes wide in shock.

As he watched more blasts rip up from the centre of ground zero, the man was vaguely aware of the arrival of one of his ANBU officers- Yugao- dropping into his office from the ceiling. The woman immediately got to her knee and bowed to the powerful shinobi.

"Hokage-sama! The Uchiha Clan district…"

Hiruzen spun around and pointed at her. "Rally the forces! Get every single one of our Jonin and Chunin on stand-by down there! Right now!"

"Yes, sir!" the woman replied, before vanishing in a blur.

OOO

(Several minutes later)

About a mile and a half out from where the Uchiha Police Station had gone up in flames- and was still going up in flames from the copious amounts of military explosives still going off- a small lake sat beside a small patch of forest. This large pool of water was fed by multiple open sewers and storm drains, all of which had, over the many years since their installation, had come together to create this very unappealing and disgusting little slice of manmade nature.

These particular pipes led from the Uchiha Clan district and emptied into the ditch, pouring all of the refuse from the streets and gardens of the abovementioned suburbs into this one spot. Thanks to the absence of rain in the last couple of weeks, the place had dried up somewhat, leaving on a muddy little puddle.

Of course, there was going to be one extra addition added to this little speck. A series of grunts echoing from one of the pipes marked the arrival of one Naruto Uzumaki. Pushing through the dried muck sitting in his way, the blond youngster slowly crawled his way out of the cramped conduit, before eventually pulling himself out of the cylinder and dropping into the pool with a heavy splash.

Free of his retched confinement, the boy, reeking of sewage, and covered in soots and various small burns from the explosion that he'd created, coughed and spluttered on the crap caught in his throat. Sprawling out in the muddy tides of his final resting spot, Naruto then took several, well-deserved gulps of fresh night air, which filled his lungs and swelled him to a state of glorious euphoria.

A few seconds later, after lying there in the cold, stagnant water staring up at the sparkling sky, the sounds of explosions echoing in the distance soon brought the seven-year-old around. He started to laugh, his chest heaving up and down and choking out pained sounding chuckles. This eventually transformed into full-blown hysteria, as the burnt and dazed Naruto then began cackling and hollering to the night above him.

Despite being painted completely brown from rat, dog, cat, garden, and several hundred other kinds of shit, Naruto just couldn't help but let the adrenaline rush of his life-or-death encounter with the assassin run its course.

"Hahahaha-ha-ha! Damn… that was loud! Hahahahaha! I can't hear a fucking thing! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" the blond practically screamed out in utter mania. "Sorry… _why curse the dark, when you can light up a seven-hundred thousand watt candle?!_ HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Slapping the muddy water next to him, the mud-covered and dazed Naruto then jabbed his middle-finger up at the tower of flames in the distance. "_THAT'S_ WHAT I THINK OF YOUR INTANGIBILITY, MOTHERFUCKER! _THAT'S_ WHAT EVERYONE THINKS OF IT! NOW CHOKE ON THAT FLAMING HORSE COCK! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Though he had no idea who the hell he'd just set on fire a thousand times over, Naruto was positive the guy was dead. If not, then he was going to have a lot more than a few deep cuts to the face to walk off.

Either way, with the way he'd played out that whole scenario, Naruto knew that he'd come out ahead. So, with nothing but the mosquitoes and fireflies around him to witness his victory, the boy raised his arms and cried out to the heavens. "I… AM THE GREATEST BAD ASS, IN THE ENTIRE WORLD!"

By the time he stopped rolling about in the sewage pool laughing his ass off, the sun had already slowly started rising over the distant horizon. When it did, the present and future of the _Village Hidden in the Leaves_ was forever changed…

OOO

(Meanwhile)

In a clearing situated in a forest many, many miles away from the destruction wrought to the outskirts of Konoha, a distortion in the air suddenly broke the night air. After shimmering and spinning for several seconds, a black mass was unceremoniously deposited onto the grass with a dull thud.

When the smoke trailing the object dissipated into the cold air, the smoke revealed a very burnt, very battered, and very arm and legless Tobi.

Having barely managed to escape the explosion in the armoury that levelled a massive chunk of the neighbourhood, the tattered and still simmering assailant growled and shuddered in pain, as he used his stump of a right arm to try and push himself into a more dignified position. When he lifted his face off of the forest floor, the murderer revealed that the left half of his face had completely melted, revealing a bit of bone glistening underneath the charred muscles. Clearly he'd managed to turn that particular side of his body towards the wall of flames at the last second, before opening up a _Kamui_ that took him the hell out of there…

And half of the explosion with him.

Since he didn't have another Sharingan to fall back on thanks to having his second eye punctured by his diminutive attacker, he had no choice but to bail.

Of course, after barely surviving the combusting blast zone, it was easy to see why he was a little bit… upset…

"I swear… when I get my hands on that boy… I am going to enjoy… ripping the Kyuubi out of him…" the man hissed through the skin he could still feel burning around his lips. "I'm going to save him for last."

The fact that he could taste blood and barbequed human flesh on his tongue only served to fuel the fire of his rage.

**TO BE CONTINUED…**

* * *

**Naruto's Fighting Styles:**

Unlike his peers, Naruto doesn't practice conventional taijutsu. In fact the martial arts he begins mastering is more related to Chinese kung fu- though in the Elemental Nations it's referred to as taijutsu. The key components behind the styles he practices however are different.

He doesn't use chakra like other shinobi. In his quest to become the greatest anti-ninja villain in history, Naruto learns to completely cut himself off from the usage of chakra, eventually removing it from his system entirely and replacing it with a new "chakra" source by the time he reaches his Genin years. What he ends up developing is a proficiency for controlling and manipulating his own willpower through the energy _Hakkai_ (Destruction) to generate potent energy-based attacks similar to psychokinesis.

This is not only a testament to his never-give-up attitude, but also his determination and mental fortitude as a person.

Among the styles he comes to master through the abovementioned principle, his first includes:

_**Tanglangquan**_ – Also known as _Praying Mantis Fist_, this is one of the first unique styles that Naruto learns, which allows him to strike and attack a person's vital and pressure points. Doing so allows him to manipulate people's bodies, to the point of being able to destroy their movements, shut down their organs, alter their nervous systems, and cause their bodies to combust from the inside-out.

_**Baihequan**_ – Also known as _White Crane Fist_, this style allows Naruto to channel wind through his body to simulate flight. He can also cause other objects in his vicinity to levitate, to the point of being able to rip entire masses of earth from the ground and use as projectiles.

_**Baoquan**_ – Also known as _Leopard Fist_, just like the other two styles above, this form is another of the five animal forms of kung fu. Through this style, Naruto can alter the air pressure around him to generate invisible, slicing blades that can cut through almost all matter.

_**Juken**_ – Referred to as _Gentle Fist_ and serving as the main fighting style practiced by the Hyuuga house, this unique and deadly taijutsu forms the basis for Naruto's understanding of the basic principles behind close combat, including the art of deflection, redirection, and defence.


	4. Uchiha Massacre Arc - The First Steps

**NARUTO**

_**Hankage**_

_The First Steps_

(One day later)

It was an early morning over the Village Hidden in the Leaves and despite all that'd happened recently, things in the community seemed to be going on as normal. The adults were getting ready for work, children were getting ready to head to school, and even the animals were greeting the rising sun with verve and delight. Everything was so calm and serene that one could almost forget that an explosion equivalent to a nuclear warhead going off had decimated a good portion of the Uchiha Clan district not that long ago.

It'd taken an hour for all the explosive tags to finish combusting and about eight hours to put out the fires.

But now things seemed to have settled down after that. Following the destruction of the police station and the events that transpired during that period, the entire village seemed to pick itself back up from where it'd left off like nothing had ever happened.

This much was true in the case of the humble artist and painter who'd managed to find himself a comfortable spot in Konoha's market area. Having set up an easel and canvas, the fifty-year-old man was doing quite well for himself, sketching funny portraits _of_ children _for_ children, and painting visual memories of families for ten ryo apiece. Since he was in such a populated area of downtown Konoha, the gentleman was able to pick and choose where and when he wanted to work.

After all, being an artist who sold his craft for the delight of others was his passion. Even if it did mean he went hungry some days, he still loved what he did.

While he was in the process of preparing his gear for another eventful day- sharpening his pencils and organizing his paints- the grey haired man with the goatee was suddenly interrupted from his mantra by the arrival of a child. When he turned to see who'd come to stand by his seat, he balked a little when he saw the bandaged form of Naruto Uzumaki staring right back at him.

His hands and arms wrapped in cotton, and his face and neck also sporting First Aid patches for the burns and cuts he'd suffered, the youngster adorned in the white jacket, black T-shirt, and orange pants calmly faced the street vendor as if there was nothing unusual about his appearance.

The vendor on the other hand couldn't help but blink as he took in the child's rather beaten-up appearance. "Oh. Good morning, young man."

"Hey there, jiji," Naruto replied in his usual, straight-forward tone, before quietly glancing across at the man's canvases lined up on the floor beside him. Seeing the artist had quite a few landscape paintings of _Konohagakure_ on display, including a very lifelike portrait of the Third Hokage and his wife, the blond couldn't help but nod his head in approval. "How're things? Business good?"

"Uhh… sure. Things have been going quite well," the old man replied, reaching up to stroke his chin as he watched the blond youngster admire the work he had on display by the road. "Are you… interested in a self-portrait? Something you can hang up on your wall? Or perhaps you would like to take a look at some of my other works from my folder?" He said this while gesturing to the portfolio sitting underneath his chair. "I've got a lot of other drawings and sketches I think you'll like."

"Perhaps some other time," Naruto replied, thumbing at the patch on his cheek before looking back at the artist seriously. "I was wondering… do you think you'll be able to draw another person for me? Someone who is… not here?"

"Another person?"

"Y-Yeah. See… I have this face burned into the back of my head and, since I don't have a photo or anything else of him to use, I was hoping someone would be able to draw him for me," the blond continued, at the same time slipping his hands into his pockets nervously. "If I described him well enough to you, would you be able to do a sketch of this person… with colour?" Since he couldn't find any information of the individual in question and that he was a terrible artist, this local street merchant was the only person he could think of that would be able to help him.

At least attempting to get some sort of reference image was a step in the right direction. Hopefully the universe would be kind enough to grant him this little wish.

Considering Naruto for a moment and the request he was making, the grey-haired old man in the painted frock smiled softly and gave the blond a nod. "Sure thing, sonny. I think I'll be able to come up with a suitable likeness… provided you can tell me as many details as you can." Quickly reaching into his pocket and drawing a lead pencil, he then pulled a drawing board into his lap and readied himself for his task. "Now… what does this person look like?"

A bright smile tugged at Naruto's lips. Relief flooding through him, the spiky haired youngster then moved around to stand at the man's shoulder. From there he then proceeded to describe to the elder the face of the subject in question…

OOO

(Two hours later)

"…so after going over the numbers, and double-checking our roster for those shinobi and kunoichi who were assigned to active duty at the time, we can safely conclude that following the attack on the Uchiha Police Headquarters and the Uchiha Clan district, of the 1,027 registered Uchiha in the village, only about 106 managed to survive," the deep, gruff voice of Shikaku Nara informed as he stood beside the Hokage's chair looking down at the documents spread out across the desk. It was an announcement that set a very cold and uncomfortable atmosphere within the office. "That's what the civilian office was able to gather from their findings."

Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was currently sitting in his chair and looking down at the papers laid out in front of him, could only narrow his eyes uncomfortably on the information. "So this is what remains of one of our village's most powerful clans?" Honestly, these numbers didn't instil any comfort in the elder at all. "How awful."

After responding to the explosion, the man was hoping his forces would've arrived in time to prevent further bloodshed. Unfortunately he responded too late.

"Apparently Itachi Uchiha had a field day across the broader areas of the clan's suburbs," the stern voice of Inoichi spoke next, with the Yamanaka folding his arms and looking up at the other people who were present in the room. This included high-ranking members of the village from clan heads to Jonin, including Choza Akimichi, Hiashi Hyuuga, Shibi Aburame, Kakashi Hatake, Kurenai Yuhi, Asuma Sarutobi, Might Gai, and a handful of others. The other prominent members of the village Koharu and Homura were also present in the circle. "His attack started early in the night at around eight thirty and didn't stop until approximately ten forty-seven."

"He was in the middle of raiding Ibana Uchiha's residence when the explosion at the police station took place. According to the mother and her family, the shockwave from the blast was so powerful that it managed to shatter the windows of their house and knock them all off their feet- including Itachi," Shikaku continued while looking down at the Hokage carefully. "Realizing that the rest of the village must have been alerted to what was going on, the young man fled the scene and the vicinity."

"But not before stopping by his house to kill his father, Fugaku," Kakashi added at the end, recounting the information that'd already been covered. Upon analysing the profile of the Uchiha Clan's leader displayed on the table in front of them, the Jonin with gravity defying silver hair and the mask covering his face heaved a sigh. "That boy didn't want to leave the Hidden Leaf without finishing his business at home."

"It's actually quite fortunate," Hiashi interjected, drawing everyone's attention to him as the head of the Hyuuga Clan proceeded to make his observation. "Had the munitions room in the armoury not gone up in flames at that precise moment, it is highly possible that Itachi Uchiha would've hunted down and killed every last member of his clan."

While this comment earned nods of agreement from the majority of the council, Asuma Sarutobi exhaled shakily and glanced across at his father. "Where was Mikoto-san during all of this?"

"That's actually a very good question, Hokage-sama," Homura spoke up, glancing across at the village leader and his former teammate with a stern glare. "Could you please tell us where the matriarch of the Uchiha Clan family has disappeared to?"

"Why wasn't _she_ at home?" Koharu chimed in, baring the same stern and unwavering tone as her colleague from the village council. "By our understanding, Mikoto was retired from active shinobi duty six years ago-"

"Mikoto Uchiha has been sent on a very important and top secret mission outside of _Konohagakure_ at _my_ behest," Hiruzen informed, glancing across at the elderly woman with a frown on his face. The look he also gave his former teammates served to silence the old administrators. "She, along with a handful of her most trusted and powerful relatives from the Uchiha Clan, as well as members from _my_ household and the Inuzuka Clan, are tending to a matter left unresolved by the previous Hokage. Due to the nature of their assignment, I cannot divulge any further information, except that Mikoto was well and truly out of reach of the village at the time Itachi decided to mount the surprise attack on his clan."

The tone through which the Third Hokage spoke with was enough to silence any and all further questions from the group regarding the absence of Mikoto. Even Homura and Koharu decided it best not to press the issue, lest they earn the wrath of who was currently the most powerful man in the village.

After the silence had stirred the air for a full minute, it soon came the time for Kurenai to make a comment- this time regarding the case of the Uchiha Clan stronghold. "What could've caused the armoury in the police headquarters to detonate so suddenly?"

"_That…_ we do not know," Shikaku answered, at the same time glancing across at the raven haired woman with a firm gaze. "Though we didn't find anything that could've triggered the fire after we searched the site of the explosion, we did learn from four young Uchiha girls who were actually in the building at the time of the attack- Rea, Naomi, Imari and Yuno- that there had been a power outage not long before the explosion took place. Apparently Itachi Uchiha attacked the police station before moving on to the rest of the district."

"Take out the guard before going for the body?" Gai murmured thoughtfully from where he was standing. "Smart."

"It's what he was trained to do," Kakashi added at the end for transparency's sake.

"We also learned that during the chaos, a villager not part of the Uchiha Clan- Naruto Uzumaki- was also seen inside the building at the time of the detonation," Shikaku stated, an announcement that had all heads in the room snap up and eyes widen all around. It was clearly a name that was well-known amongst them all and with good reason. "He'd been brought into the police headquarters for getting into a fight with a bunch of kids on the street, and sent all of them to the hospital. Due to the sheer size of the explosion, the damage done to the area, and the fact that we haven't found a single trace of young Naruto anywhere, even with our best sensors and trackers on the scene, we have come to suspect that the jinchuriki of the _Kyuubi no Yoko_ must have perished in the event."

A full minute passed as the knowledge of this unfortunate realization slowly sank into the minds of all the Jonin present. Many of them were so stunned by this news that their minds started venturing to other matters and issues that could arise from this news- such as more destruction and havoc being wrought to the country should the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox suddenly resurface. To learn that the boy containing the very thing the Fourth Hokage had sacrificed himself to stop all those years ago, had met a fiery end in the heart of the cataclysm that rocked the Uchiha Clan district the night before, was just too much of a hit to simply shake off with a few calming breaths.

Even the most seasoned Jonin among them were finding this news tough to swallow.

But just before any of them could break full composure, a sudden knock at the door put a halt to the meeting's proceedings and prompted everyone there to turn towards the entrance in unison. When they did, they saw a Chunin kunoichi with short black hair nervously step into view.

"Umm… pardon my interruption, Hokage-sama," the woman squeaked.

"What is it, Kitara?" Hiruzen asked.

Swallowing nervously, the twenty-year-old woman in the green vest and black robes slowly opened the door to the office a little wider. "There's a young man hear to see you. He says it's very urgent." The moment she gestured her hand to the space of the arch, every single adult in the room saw the all too familiar form of Naruto step into view.

Sure, he was covered in bandages and bruises, but he was still very much alive.

The moment the child's bruised and unperturbed face appeared in the archway, silence reigned over the audience in the chamber. Once the surprise at seeing the youngster finally dissipated, the Hokage beckoned him in without fuss or hesitation. "Naruto-kun. Please… come in."

With a curt nod, Naruto stepped over the threshold of what was recognized as the highest office in the village and possibly the country. Upon hearing the door click shut behind him, the delinquent strolled into the ranks of the most powerful ninja in the village, who happily stepped aside to make a path for him. When he stopped in front of the desk, everyone was giving the blond their full and undivided attention.

It was probably the most attention Naruto remembered ever receiving in the last seven years of his miserable young life. How about that?

Quietly locking his fingers together and resting his elbows on the desk, Hiruzen Sarutobi then addressed the youngster with a warm and welcoming smile. "Thank goodness. We were all worried about you. Are you well? Judging from your appearance, you must have gotten into quite a scrap recently."

Tracing the man's gaze to the bandages, Naruto picked at them for a moment before frowning. "Scrap? Yeah… sure… let's go with that."

"Would you mind telling us what happened to you and where you've been this entire time?" the Commander of Konoha's forces, Shikaku, asked with a stern glare set on the young blond standing before them. "The last we heard, you'd been locked up in the Uchiha Police Station on the night Itachi Uchiha attacked his clan."

Naruto narrowed his eyes in confusion as he looked between the adults, where he saw every single one of them was looking at him with the utmost concentration. "Itachi? Isn't he, like, Sasuke's older brother?" He only knew of the guy because he'd heard all the students in his class gushing about how talented the younger sibling was and how he was well on his way to becoming the next superstar of their academy, just like his older counterpart. He'd even looked up Itachi's name in the shinobi registry and read a bit about him. "From what I heard that guy's supposed to be super talented and ridiculously strong."

"In simple terms, yes," Hiruzen nodded.

"So you know who he is?" Homaru asked, wanting to verify himself exactly how much Naruto knew of the incident that'd taken place, right down to the last detail. "Then you must know how much damage that young man ha-"

Naruto scrunched his face up in momentary confusion as he cut the man off with his next thought, "From what I remember of his pictures, I don't remember him having a hideous scar on the right side of his face." He then placed his hands on his hips and looked down at the floor as he began mumbling out loud. "I guess he must've gotten it while he was on a mission or something. Funny… the guy didn't look anything like Sasuke… his hair was all wrong. Plus he looked a lot older than fifteen."

This sudden left turn in the conversation caused all of the adults in the room to look at each other. When they saw that everybody was at a loss, as they had no idea what the blond was talking about, they then looked back at the kid, who was still scratching his head in a troubled fashion.

"Who exactly are you talking about, kid?" the imposing form of Asuma asked. "Itachi didn't have any scars. In fact, I don't remember anyone even laying a finger on him in battle, he was just that good."

Upon hearing this, Naruto then realized that the person he was referring to wasn't the Itachi everyone was talking about. Deciding that there'd been enough beating around the bush, the blond went right for the thick of it and, opening the rolled up scroll in his hand, he slapped it down on the desk on top of all the paperwork, right in front of the Hokage. The sight of it caused all the adults to stop and stare, with a deathly silence suddenly falling over the entire office.

What Naruto had dropped in front of them was a perfectly coloured, realistic pencil-drawn portrait of an individual that at first not a single one of the men or women recognized. A thirty year old man wearing a black robe and a turtleneck shirt, with broad shoulders and sporting a pale complexion, as well as black, spiky hair that grew down past his neck. The stiff jawline and slightly rounded cheeks of his mug were only accentuated by a hideous battle scar on the entire right side of his face, which crawled over the corner of his lip and seemed to stretch his skin behind his ear. It was like the part of his face had been hit by something with great force and healed over a period of a few years.

He also had a three tomoe Sharingan in his left socket and another in his right, only the pattern was much different from the conventional eye. The black aspects of the kekkei genkai resembled a shuriken with accented edges, giving it a very menacing appearance.

At first the Jonin in the room were stunned into silence, as they had no idea exactly who this person was. It was only after a few seconds of staring that Kakashi Hatake recoiled in disbelief, his one visible eye widening.

"Th-That's…"

"When I broke out of my cell after the lights went out and told Rea and her friends to run, I went back in to see who was attacking the police station," Naruto began, once again drawing several sets of eyes toward him- including the Hokage's- once he began doing a breakdown of the night's events. "I ended up ambushing _this_ prick when I lured him into a ruined corridor and dropped down on top of him through the ceiling. After he was done stumbling around after taking three dozen knife stabs to the face, he ripped off his mask and showed me _that_ ugly mug. Scar and all." The blond then slipped his hands into his pockets. "He managed to slaughter every single Jonin and Chunin in the police station all by himself. It was crazy. I was actually really lucky I didn't get killed."

Had his encounter with the assassin taken place under normal circumstances- squaring off in the day time, out in the open, with no corners or obstacles to hide behind, and both of them were fully aware of the other's presence- Naruto was a hundred percent positive the man would've killed him.

No. Not just killed. _Destroyed_. The element of surprise, topped with the fact that the mysterious murderer grossly underestimated him when they eventually ended up meeting face to face- and had decided to take that time to monologue instead of get the job done- meant that Naruto was able to escape with only a few minor cuts and bruises.

There was no way, even with his impressive taijutsu skills and toughness, that he would've been able to beat the guy on his own.

After gaping at the paper for several seconds longer, as he too recognized the person printed over it, Gai's gaze quickly snapped back to the blond. "What else do you remember about him?"

"That the guy was fast… that he moved like a black haze, I'm guessing from a shunshin technique… and that he wore an old Uchiha war mask with a flame pattern on it," Naruto continued without missing a beat, his composure not losing out for a second. He then turned to glare at the sketch in front of him. "He also used this really strange technique that made things go through him- kunai, shuriken, fire, metal, _everything_. Heck, he even managed to walk through solid walls like a ghost… almost like he could make himself intangible. I'm guessing that's how he was able to kill all those Uchiha so easily when he entered the station, because he could slip through everything they threw at him."

The only reason Naruto had been able to touch him was because he was able to get the drop on him when his back was turned and the guy had no idea where he was. Not to mention the assassin could only phase through things if he wasn't already interacting with them- e.g. touching the harmless insulation sheet that fell over his head, which then allowed Naruto to trap him.

Kurenai could only shake her head as she heard everything that came out of the boy's mouth. "And you managed to get all of this information from just one encounter? How the heck did you manage to escape him?" Surely someone that efficient and powerful wouldn't have let a kid spot him and then run for it. He probably would've run him down and killed him before he even had a chance to breathe a word of his discovery to anyone.

At this, Naruto grinned and shrugged. "I blew him up… along with the entire block." He then casually raised his hand and waved. "You're welcome, by the way."

Everyone was stumped. After hearing what Naruto had to say and in processing all of his information, all the adults in the room could do was shake their heads and stare at the child like he'd grown a second head. Disregarding the fact that he actually survived a brush encounter with a dangerous assassin and caused the explosion that damaged a good portion of the Uchiha Clan's district, but he also managed to bring them a profile of a person that they all thought to have died long ago.

When Naruto noticed several of the men looking down at the picture with mixed expressions of disbelief and confusion, the blond frowned and turned his attention to Kakashi. "You all know who this guy is… don't you?"

The silver haired man nodded slowly. "Yes… Obito Uchiha. He was my old teammate… and friend."

"I thought he died… years ago," Asuma chimed in, at the same time giving his colleague a stern glare. "During the _Third Great Shinobi War_, back when you and your team were…" When he saw Kakashi was still staring at the picture without even the slightest intention of looking away, the man with the beard wisely stopped and stepped off a bit. "It was a very long time ago. So much so that I can barely even remember when-"

"Now's not the time to reminisce," Koharu suddenly chimed in, quickly putting an end to the group's melancholic mood and redirecting attention back to the portrait in front of them. "We still have a very serious issue to resolve here."

"Agreed," Hiruzen spoke, at the same time looking around at his subordinates carefully. "Thanks to the information brought to us by young Naruto, we can safely say that the attack made on the Uchiha Clan last night was mounted by not one, but _two_ individuals- both of whom are highly skilled and very dangerous shinobi. Their actions have resulted in the deaths of hundreds of innocent people and punched a sizable rift into the village's community that, while not impossible to fix, has left a great many of us saddened and shaken. Right now we should be doing everything in our power to ensure that the survivors of this tragic event are properly looked after and the people responsible for this chaos are brought to justice. That means hunting both Itachi and Obito down and capturing them."

Shikaku nodded and looked up at the rest of the council. "If this information is accurate, we're going to have to reactive Obito's original status from KIA to Alive, and classify him as a missing-nin with a danger level of S-Class. Until we can fully verify that he has been dealt with, we'll have to assume that he too may have survived the explosion, just as Naruto had."

This news had Naruto frown a little in displeasure. _"Damn. And I was really hoping for a kill count added to my profile."_ Quickly getting over it, the young man then straightened up and faced the Hokage seriously. "This Obito guy… I remember him saying that he knew my father. Do… any of you guys know what that means… or could you tell me about how my family is involved in this?"

Once again the conference was interrupted by another question, which had Hiruzen and most of everyone in the room staring at Naruto in awkward silence.

When he saw no one was answering him and that many of the adults in the circle were appearing quite hesitant in speaking up, the whiskered delinquent furrowed his brow and sighed. Obviously this was a bit too much of an ask, which gave Naruto all the motivation he needed to move. "Right. You guys are in the middle of something. Sorry for interrupting." His piece said, he then casually strolled passed the Jonin on his left, who watched the child wander over to the window, open it, and then hop onto the seal. "If anyone needs me, I'll be at _Ichiraku's Ramen_… or at the playground. Whatever."

"Wait, Naru-" Hiruzen started, only to stop when the blond leapt out the window and disappeared, leaving the Jonin to their secret council meeting. The elder then exhaled and looked back at the others. "Ah. He's been through a lot lately."

"So we can tell," Inoichi commented, crossing his arms as he returned his gaze to the desk. "Still, the kid's got spunk, I can give him that."

"I heard he's been spending a lot of time by himself lately… training on his own and working on his combat skills. The kids at the academy often see him doing gymnastics and practicing his katas in the clearing outside of the play area," Asuma said while crossing his arms. A smile then broke across his lips. "Guess that partly explains how he was able to get all that info on the assassin and evade him in the Police Headquarters. Though he's unorthodox, I can tell the child's got quite a lot of talent for his age. Not to mention he's incredibly driven." Believe it or not, but that was actually quite a big contributing factor to a child's growth- as many of them could attest. His comments regarding the child had the other Jonin standing in the circle nod.

Adjusting his cap, Hiruzen once again shifted his focus back to the matter at hand. "I'll speak to him about his parents a little later. But for now we have to talk about how we're going to manage with the surviving Uchiha… and work on moving them back into the folds of the village."

"We also have to figure out how we're going to break this news to Mikoto when she gets back from her mission," Kurenai added, which had several of the men pale a little when her name was brought up. The red-eyed woman tightened her lips anxiously. "She's not going to be happy when she returns and finds out about her son."

"That's an understatement if I ever heard one," Kakashi murmured, also finding the thought of bringing up this issue with the matriarch a difficult one.

The last time something like this happened- namely the time Mikoto found out her best friends Kushina and Minato had died- she grabbed her bow and arrow, slammed the door behind Fugaku, and was not seen for the next month.

When she returned, she came back with the heads of about twenty A-Rank missing nin from the bingo book.

The thought of finding out what she will do after she finds out about Itachi's massacre on their clan sent chills down all their spines.

XXX

(A few days later)

Standing in the isles of a shop in the middle of _Konohagakure's_ shopping district, surrounded by cases, racks and cases displaying all kinds of shinobi weaponry, a now much better-looking Naruto was quietly enjoying his day off browsing the local markets. Sporting a brand new look consisting of a black long-sleeved shirt, orange pants and a white obi wrapped around his beltline, the youngster was perusing over the wide assortment of armaments propped up on the wooden stands, hoping to find something useful or interesting.

Having spent the last few days recovering and meditating following his little jaunt in the Uchiha Clan district, the blond was now in the process of gathering supplies. The true purpose of which only he knew the reason for.

"_Let's see… while I'm on the road, I'm going to need some good metal, some good wire… and a good hunting knife,"_ Naruto thought to himself, analysing a bunch of katanas and tantos packed together behind the glass. Some of them were appropriately decorated with gold embellishments and symbols, which helped to make the most impressive pieces of the collection stand out from the rest.

The last thirty-six hours that had come and gone had given Naruto plenty of time to think about the events that'd taken place over the course of the past week. His little death-defying match with the assassin in the Uchiha Clan Police Headquarters, the destruction of said building, and circumstances that followed, had all come together to deliver a real taste of what true conflict and danger actually was to the child. Even after all his weeks of intense physical and mental training, and the copious amounts of time he spent preparing for the very moment he would end up facing off against a true enemy, the events and outcomes that'd transpired had left a very dark impression on the blonde's psyche.

He learned for the first time since setting off on his path to becoming a true villain that the shinobi world was much bigger and more perilous than he could've ever imagined. There were situations and matters taking place in the world that went beyond his personal knowledge and understanding, not just inside _Konohagakure_, but in places all over. There were also countless enemies with strengths and abilities that were completely over the top, many of which could not be found in books or lessons at the academy.

Upon reflecting on his past battles, the information he'd learned, and comparing them to his current position in life, Naruto knew that he wasn't going to learn and experience anything more from just sitting here in the village, bowing humbly to the status quo.

There was no danger here. No important movements taking place that he could sink his teeth into. No interesting places to explore. No hidden treasures. No bad guys. _Nothing_. It was just villagers living safely inside of tall, concrete walls, who were sealed off from the rest of the world.

Naruto knew in his gut and his heart that he had more room to grow, more room to learn, and that he could become much, much stronger. But he wasn't going to do that being confined to his little quarter of the world, being suffocated by the people around him.

What he really wanted was to experience true, uninhibited freedom. The kind of freedom he needed to live, to go beyond, and become something truly outstanding. That was why yesterday, after careful deliberation over a boring homework assignment from school, he decided he was going to leave _Konohagakure_ and go off on his own adventure.

This eventually led him here, to the weapons shop in the middle of central _Konohagakure_, looking for the tools necessary for an extended expedition.

After about half an hour of walking up and down the shop, with the ever watchful owner quietly observing the child from behind the papers of his magazine, Naruto then stopped in front of another glass case with a small collection of ornate knives on display. When he bent over to take a closer look, the blond then blinked when he suddenly saw a second set of eyes staring back at him.

The sight of the face and hands being pressed up against the panel had Naruto straighten back up in surprise, with the person on the other side of the transparent box also jolting upwards with a squeak.

"Oh. S-Sorry about that," the girl exclaimed in a cute voice. "I didn't see you there."

"No, no. It was my bad. My bad," Naruto replied, holding up his hands in a sign of reassurance. "No harm done." When a sincere smile formed on his lips, the boy then saw the girl step out from behind the display, allowing him to see that the girl was about the same age as him, maybe a year older, with brown hair tied into an ox horn style, and was wearing a pink tai chi top and pants.

It looked like she'd given him the same analytical treatment, and once the awkwardness of their greeting had passed, the blond delinquent nodded politely to her. "Are you shopping for some ninja gear as well?"

"Y-Yeah. You can say that," the girl replied, slipping her hands behind her back as she gave the boy a chirpy smile. "Our teacher at the academy has started showing our class basic throwing knife techniques and I was thinking about picking up some new shuriken to practice with back home. I want to make sure I get top marks for it by the end of the year… and maybe even learn some different ones by myself."

"I see. So… you're studying at the academy too?"

"Uh-huh. Iruka-sensei's second year class," she nodded enthusiastically, before giving the slightly shorter but tough boy a look over. "And you? I don't think I've ever seen you around the building before."

Naruto shrugged while slipping his hands into his pockets. "I'm in the year below in a different class… and I don't really hang out where the other kids normally are. I'm mostly just on my own by the climbing bars or on the roof where no one can really bother me."

"Ah. Makes sense. I don't really play with anybody else either. The other girls think I'm weird and the boys don't like me because I can beat them up… so I don't really have many friends," the girl chirped back, at the same time swaying on the spot as she engaged the blond further. Obviously she hadn't run into anyone else from school here before and she wanted to keep chatting. "I'm Tenten, by the way," she greeted while holding out her hand.

"Naruto," the delinquent replied, while returning the girl's gesture in kind. "It's nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too," Tenten answered. The moment their hands disengaged, the curious youngster then took a step towards the blond with an excited glimmer in her eyes. "Hey, hey. So what kind of weapons do you like? Or which ones do you think are the coolest?"

"Uhh… I don't know, to be honest," Naruto replied, scratching his head when he remembered he was just browsing.

"Kunai and shuriken are awesome. But I think swords and staffs are much better weapons," the kunoichi-in-training said while hopping excitedly on the spot. She then pretended she was holding an invisible sword and began swinging it about her in a playful manner. "You can do so many cool things with them. Strike, parry, block, deflect, repel, run, slash, disarm, and pierce body armour. Sure, you can't throw them as well as you can with ninja stars, but you can definitely knock away things flying at you if you train hard enough." She then clasped her hands together tightly and beamed radiantly at Naruto, who leaned away slightly at the intensity in her gaze. "My favourite though is the Three-Section Staff. You can use it as both a long-range and close-range weapon. It's also really good for defending yourself."

"Wow, you really know your weapons, don't you?" Naruto asked, feeling a bit overwhelmed at how hyper this girl was getting over the subject. Though normally somebody like this would've chased any other kid away the second they started rambling, the blond didn't seem to mind her bubbly personality and gushing excitement. In fact, he found it quite intriguing.

Maybe it was because she was so chatting that she didn't have many friends to begin with. She was probably lonely, just like he was.

"So… what is your weapon of choice?" Tenten pressed, keeping her ears pricked and eyes open as she watched the youngster in front of her scratch his head.

Pondering on it for a moment, Naruto cracked a smile, reached into his pocket, and pulled something out. When the girl saw the boy open his hand, she blinked when she saw the youngster was holding three metal ball bearings, each one the size of a marble.

"I think I definitely prefer these," Naruto said, rolling them between his palms and fingers while testing their weight. "I first started practicing with rocks, but then I decided to switch it up. They're smaller and lighter than kunai, and they can be held very easily. Since they don't look threatening at all, you can sneak them into places without trying to hide them in a seal or scroll." He then grinned across at the older academy student. "And since I don't really get much allowance money, they're cheap and easy to make."

"Oh. That's interesting." Tenten then looked up at the boy when he started juggling them on the spot, tossing them up and down with his wrist. "How exactly do you use them?"

With a mischievous glint appearance in his eye, the blond glanced across at the store owner. "Hey, jiji? Can I use the target hanging on the wall over there?" he asked while pointing towards the red and white wooden circle with knife marks in it.

The manager lowered his magazine and, after looking between the two children and the object in question, the man nodded. "Sure, kid. I put it up there for the customers to use. Just be careful not to hit the wall."

Hearing everything he needed at that moment, the child then turned on his heel, cocked back his arm, and pitched one of the marbles in his hand with a backhanded throw. The silver pellet shot out of from his fingers at record speed and slammed into the target with a sharp _thump_, causing splinters to fly off of it and the target itself to wobble from the force of the impact. From there Naruto then drew a couple more marbles with his other hand, at the same time chucking the remaining ones from his other hand with a forward throw, followed immediately by the new ones.

Each marble struck the large target one after the other, all around the very middle of the circle. Due to the positioning and spacing between each hole made, it was easy to tell that Naruto had focused all of his rounds on the centre mass. Precision archery if anyone in that room had ever seen it.

While Tenten gaped after Naruto lowered his arm, the store manager whistled and nodded his head in a clear sign that he was impressed. "Not bad kid. You've got a solid arm there."

"Thanks." Flicking the bridge under his nose in a smug manner, the blond grinned at the weapon shop owner with a confident smile. "I'd like to buy two hundred more of these, if you've got that many. And a set of the eight inch kunai from cabinet three." Upon seeing the man stand up and march through the door towards the back of his shop, Naruto once again focused his attention on Tenten. Seeing the girl staring at him in amazement prompted the boy to shrug casually. "Since the blacksmiths use ball bearings for signal arrows, crossbows and other mechanical devices, they're always in stock, so I can buy as many of them as I want."

Snapping out of her daze, Tenten clenched her fists eagerly and stepped right up to the youngster. "Wow! You've got a really hard throw! Those things went straight through the wood!"

"Yeah. It took a lot of practice for me to get that far," Naruto said while rolling his shoulders. Inspecting the target on the side of the room, the young man then scrunched his face up thoughtfully. "Hmm… but it's still not enough. I want my throws to be stronger… _faster_… and I'd really like to be able to launch them using only my fingers."

Tenten tilted her head slightly, as she found his assessment of his efforts to be a lot more critical than she was expecting. Before she could ask him anything about his training, the pair were interrupted by the return of the storeowner. Walking past the counter, the man held out a large bag filled with the same ball bearings that the youngster was using and plopped them into the boy's waiting hand.

"There you are. That'll be 400 ryo in total," the middle-aged blacksmith exclaimed.

In exchange for the ammunition, Naruto handed the man the exact amount required from his pocket, before turning to Tenten for one last friendly word. "Well… I hope I get to see you around some time. Maybe after I get back."

"Oh? You're going away somewhere?" the girl asked, appearing quite surprised.

"Yeah. Just a small camping trip out in the wilderness. I might be gone for about a month… or three… or six… that all depends," Naruto said, giving a shrug and a smile like it didn't matter if he didn't have a concrete plan about what he was going to do or where he was going. Any ideas he had he'd rather keep to himself, as the last thing he wanted to do now was have any adults catching wind of his actions and ruining his fun. "When I get back, I promise I'll be throwing shuriken through walls with just a flick of my finger."

This statement put a smile back on Tenten's face. "I'll hold you to it. And by the time _you_ get back, I'll also have practiced and learned how to use every single weapon sitting in this shop." She said this while gesturing grandly to all the cases and stands surrounding them, and the multitude of shinobi tools glistening on display.

"Looking forward to it," Naruto replied, at the same time raising his free hand and forming it into a fist. "I'll be sure to challenge you to a sparring match then." He then grinned inwardly when the girl bumped fists with him as a sign of mutual respect, as well as an affirmation of their goals and assurance to one another. When their knuckles separated, both of them felt a little more jovial and excited than they were before, as was typical for a pair of hopeful and aspiring youngsters. "Till next time?"

"Of course," Tenten nodded enthusiastically. "It was really nice meeting you."

"You too," Naruto replied, giving a wave as he then departed the shop.

When she watched the door swing open and shut behind the blond, the kunoichi-in-training was given a brief pause for thought. Standing where she was and looking back at the small target the boy had shown his skills against, Tenten felt a well of delight building in her almost akin to a sense of anticipation and inspiration. It wasn't just seeing the boy's capabilities for herself that impressed her the most, but also the conviction he spoke with in his voice and the determination to improve what he already knew that made her want to grow and succeed.

The fact that he also looked younger than her also made her want to go out there and show the world what she could do.

"_I'm gonna start training more,"_ the brown haired academy student thought while clenching her fists tightly. _"Much more." _Though she had no idea where she was going to start, she knew she would be able to think of something.

After all, if you don't get it right the first time, try and try again until you do.

XXX

(Two days later)

It was late in the afternoon and under the glow of the setting sun, which cast a warm orange hue across the greater expanse of the village, a group of four youngsters could be seen gathered around the steps next to the playground. Having come here after school had finished for the day, the young girls recognized around as Rea, Naomi, Yuno and Imari- four of the only surviving Uchiha left in the village- were sitting or standing around the steps, looking both upset and defeated.

The saddest one out of all of them was Yuno, who had her head hiding beneath her knees as she cried softly into her skirt. Her good friend Imari was comforting her, while Naomi stood behind them with her hands in her pockets and Rea was poised off to the side glaring at the ground.

Obviously the four hadn't had a good day. In fact, since they were still getting over the fact that their clan had been attacked by one of their own and they had lost not only neighbours but also relatives on that night, returning to a normal, everyday existence was proving to be incredibly difficult. Not only was it the loss of many people that they knew and loved, but also the stigma that came from the rest of their classmates. They were now viewed as some of the last of their once great clan and, because relationships between the village and the Uchiha had been in great decline over the years, those few who remained were now receiving the overflow of that scorn and displeasure from those around them.

It was this mixture of sympathy, sorrow, and disdain that added further weight to their hearts and minds. For the softer hearted members of their clan, they were finding it quite hard to cope.

"It's alright, Yuno," her kimono-wearing cousin Imari spoke while patting her companion's shoulder in a comforting manner. "It's okay. We all lost a lot of family that night. Your dad and uncle… they did their best to protect everyone that they could. I'm sure they gave Itachi the fight of his life…"

Unfortunately though, things had ended tragically for the members of the clan that'd tried to stand up to the oldest son of the patriarch, who'd decided to go turncoat and slaughter every single one of his relatives without even batting an eye.

All four girls were experiencing varying levels of heartbreak and loss. Rea, having been present at the time of the attack on the Uchiha Police Headquarters, was still trying to come to terms with the death of her father, which had left her feeling both angry and upset. She'd also found out her uncle, her auntie, and their two children had also been murdered by Itachi in cold blood. Because her mother was still out on an extra-long mission with Mikoto beyond the village, and both of them had yet to return from it, the young Uchiha was unable to receive any comfort or consolation from her one remaining parent over this sudden and tragic affair. Naomi was also part of her family, and since both of them were incredibly close, the tanned girl was the only person Rea could really confide in about the incident.

The two of them had needed to deal with the loss of their family members together, and though they were incredibly strong willed and brave for their age, it didn't mean the aftermath wasn't hard on them.

Imari on the other hand had lost her mother, her auntie, her nephews, and her grandparents- with her father's whereabouts being unknown, as he was away on a mission. Though she had been incredibly saddened and distraught on the day she found out what'd happened to all of them, she knew that she had to be strong for her friends. Her cousins were going to need guidance and a firm shoulder to lean on, and Imari knew she had to keep a clear head if she was going to fulfil that duty. And then there was Yuno, who had lost not only her father, but also her uncle's family, and her older sister, who guided and supported her through school. Though it was a miracle that her closest circle of cousins had survived the night, the loss of dozens of other members of her family, who she knew and loved the most, was a really devastating blow.

This was why Imari was now doing her very best to comfort her branch family relative and assure her that everything was going to be alright.

Upon hearing her friend sob and sniffle for a few more minutes, Rea, finally reaching the end of her patience, kicked the ground with her foot and spun towards her cousins in a fit of frustration. "This sucks! I hate this!" she barked, causing the other three girls to turn to her in alarm. "How could the village let that asshole Itachi get away? Why haven't they gotten him yet?!"

Naomi frowned as she looked towards her adoptive sister, who she could see was practically fuming at the ears. "Calm down, Rea-chan. I'm sure the Hokage is doing everything that he can to make sure that monster is caught." It was a news that many of their clansmen had found comfort in, but didn't do well in cheering up the youngsters. "They will find him and bring him in to stand trial."

"No. No," Rea growled, shaking her head and clenching her fists tightly. "That's not good enough! That man… that _beast_… he doesn't deserve the chance to live. Not after everything he's done to us." She then slammed her right hand into her chest and fixed her best glare on her relatives sitting nearby. "He killed our friends! He murdered our families! Our neighbours! He took away everything and everyone we held dear, and he didn't even hesitate! Not even for a second!" Her anger became so potent and so fierce that not only did her chakra spike, but her eyes suddenly flashed a very bright red. The result of which was a pair of Sharingan spinning into view, with two tomoe in the right eye and a single tomoe in the left.

The sight of the girl's kekkei genkai activating caused Naomi and the other two to stare at their friend and troop leader in amazement.

"R-Rea-chan?" Imari stammered, watching the huffing girl vent her rage.

"He has to die! I don't care by who or by what, but he needs to answer for everything he's done!" Rea practically shouted, before holding up her hand to take a swing at the air. "If not, then I will go after him and kill him myself!" She then threw a punch… or at least tried to.

The second her punch flew, her arm and body shuddered to a halt when her wrist became caught in a vicelike grip. Spinning around, Rea angrily attempted to swipe at the person who stopped her, as getting snuck up on was not something she appreciated, only to stop short when she saw the person standing behind her was none other than Naruto Uzumaki- the same boy she'd spoken with at the police station.

Wearing a white and blue fur-hooded jacket, figure-hugging black shirt, orange pants, and white obi, the boy stood behind the girl with a stern look on his face and his multitude of facial wounds all healed up. The girls also noticed that the youngster had his orange pendant hanging from his neck and over the front of his chest, and that he also had a backpack slung over his shoulder, as if he was ready to go on a big trip.

At first the only thing the girls could do was stare, as they were not expecting to see the boy appear to them so suddenly. But then, after several seconds of deliberation, it soon occurred to them that for the last few days, neither of them were aware that the young blond was still alive. They thought he'd perished in the explosion in their clan compound, along with all the other bodies inside the police headquarters.

The moment her eyes landed on him, Rea's temper vanished, and her red eyes faded back to black. It was the sight of her expression softening and gaze clearing that quickly drew a nod from the silent Naruto.

"So you managed to activate your Sharingan? That's cool," the blond commented, releasing his grip on her wrist and watching the youngster back away. "Though it's small comfort for what happened. I know it doesn't mean much, but I'm… I'm very sorry." He said this while lowering his head in a momentary sign of respect and sympathy toward the girls' plight.

Rea's surprise swiftly transformed into one of defeat and hurt, at the same time she tentatively ran her fingers through the hair hanging next to her ear. "It… it's alright. You didn't do anything wrong." She then nervously looked back up at the boy and, after looking him over a couple of times to assess that he was still in one piece, a soft smile appeared on her lips. "You look good."

Naruto shrugged. "Thanks." He then looked across at the other girls, just in time to see Yuno wipe away her tears and stand up, along with Imari. "What about you guys? How are you holding up?"

It was this time Naomi's turn to speak. The tanned girl crossed her arms and turned her gaze towards the floor. "Not well." She then looked over her shoulder at Yuno. "Even though the Hokage and the council is doing everything they can to help the survivors, everyone in our clan is still very upset over what'd happened."

"The adults who survived are now taking on the roles and responsibilities left behind by the others who were killed," Imari added, before then shaking her head. "It's a messy start. But until Mikoto-sama gets back from her mission, I'm afraid most of us are at a loss as to what we're going to do."

The best that they could do at this time was hope and wait.

"And it doesn't help that most of the village hates us," Rea added, drawing Naruto's gaze over so that he can see the girl grit her teeth and curl her fists. "Though the kids don't bother us, some of the adults from the other clans spit at us… and tell us that 'we had it coming', and that if our family hadn't started causing problems for the village, we wouldn't be in this mess. They all say it was _our_ fault." She then looked back up at the blond and stepped towards him earnestly. "Y-You understand us right, Naruto-kun? You know what it feels like to have the whole world looking down on you… and to have everyone around you treat you like dirt."

Hearing the desperation and hurt in her voice struck a chord inside the blond, who took a steady breath in order to maintain his composure. "I do… more than you know." When he saw Rea relax and the others respond amiably to his answer, Naruto then decided to go for it and proceeded onto his next endeavour. It was the sole reason why he was here and speaking to them. "Though I may not be able to do anything for the rest of your clan, I can still help you four in some way. I'm leaving the village tonight." His news had the four girls recoil, their ears perking up so that they can listen to the boy speak. "I don't know where I'll go or for how long, but I would like you guys to come with me."

"W-With you?" Yuno stuttered, sniffing a little as she attempted to figure out why Naruto was asking this of them.

"After everything that happened on that day and at the police station, I realized that there is so much more going on outside of this village that I don't understand. That scumbag I fought and blew up… he was just the tip of the iceberg. I have a gut feeling that's telling me he's part of something much, _much_ bigger, and I'm not going to find out what that is by sitting around here listening to fairy tales in class time and playing kick ball with the children in the park," Naruto said in a serious and unshaking voice. As he attempted to find the right words to explain his motivations, the four Uchiha girls stood and listened. "People and shinobi are fighting and killing each other everywhere… and there are so many more suffering because of it. After considering everything that's happened, I decided that I want to do something about it…"

Swallowing nervously, the raven haired Rea stuttered. "W-Why do you want us to come with you?"

"You want revenge on the assholes who killed your family, right? Itachi and what not?" Naruto asked, and quickly saw Rea, Naomi and Imari nod silently. "I'm more than happy to help you get your revenge. I can train you- make you faster and stronger than you can ever imagine- strong enough to defeat even the most dangerous ninja in history. Though I have so much more to learn, I realized that I've only just begun to discover what I can really do with the techniques I've already mastered… and I can do the same for all four of you." He then shouldered his bag further up his back and turned side-on to the girls, indicating he was about to leave. "That is… if you want to."

All he received at first was complete and utter silence, as Rea and the other girls looked around at one another anxiously. Obviously neither of them knew what to do with this offer, as the thought of leaving the village and their clan had never been a recurring thought. Hell, it was barely even a whisper until a few seconds ago, and now they were having that opportunity offloaded to them like an invitation to a friend's birthday.

Seeing the four were silently grappling with his words and attempting to figure out the best course to take, Naruto decided to give them a chance. "I'll give you guys' time to think about it." He then turned his back on them and slipped his hands into his pockets. "If you want to come with me, I'll be waiting for you at the river's exit to the village near the West Gate until midnight. After that, I'm gone." The blond then started to walk away. "See yah." Upon which his body vanished in a blur, as he sprang away at a speed the girls couldn't even track.

When he left, the four girls remained where they were for the next hour, pondering over what they should do…

OOO

(That night)

Up in the Tower below the village's mountain monument, the Hokage was currently standing by his window and looking out across the greater part of the hidden leaf. With the hour drawing late and his paperwork sitting mostly complete on his desk, Hiruzen had opted to use this time for a short meditation session, as evident by his calm demeanour, the pipe hanging from his lips, and his hands poised comfortably behind his back.

After all the events that'd transpired over the week, the man had been given much cause to consider and many troubles to resolve. It wasn't just issues stemming from the Uchiha Clan and their still absent matriarch, but also the entirety of _Konohagakure_, and how the actions made on the night of the incident had led to this exact moment.

Unbeknownst to most, Hiruzen knew what the Uchiha had been planning. Following the Nine-Tails attack on Konoha and the death of the Fourth Hokage, the village leadership had placed the entire clan under close surveillance, as they suspected that the Uchiha may have been involved with the situation due to their clan's history and their kekkei genkai's ability to control the beast. Their sudden isolation from the rest of the community and their involvement from many of the village's political circles, as well as the sudden influx of mistrust from their neighbours, ultimately rekindled the hatred they had for the Senju-influenced government. Thus, the highest-ranking members of the clan, began organizing a coup de-tat.

In preparation for the coup, not only did the Uchiha attempt to insert spies from their clan into Konoha's administrative structure, but they also began stockpiling weapons, ammunition, and explosives should their removal of the village's leadership fail and lead into a confrontation between them and the rest of _Konohagakure_. The answer as to where the Uchiha were secretly stockpiling all of their weapons and bombs in preparation for the assault on the leaf had been revealed on the night the massacre took place, when the entire Police Headquarters and its basement packed with paper bomb ordinance was spectacularly destroyed.

While Hiruzen had become aware of Itachi's actions against his clan in an effort to stop the conflict from boiling over, what the man did not foresee was the clan's entire supply of war equipment detonating and taking out two city blocks. It was for that reason the Hokage immediately dispatched his forces to secure the area, so as to avoid other innocent villagers wandering into the site and getting caught up in the fires of whatever was going on.

And so, in a single night, not only did the Uchiha's murky plans to overthrow the village government go up in flames, but so did their temporary ammunition bunker.

The thought of it still made Hiruzen shiver at how close they came to all-out war.

As it was later revealed to him, thanks to the untimely detonation of the police headquarters, Itachi's systematic extermination of his clan, and a number of other factors, the young ANBU was effectively stopped from slaughtering every single member of his clan. Not only had Mikoto and the clan's strongest Uchiha been sent on a mission prior to the attack, but a small number of Uchiha had been lucky to not fall to the boy's blade. Because Itachi focused on taking out the hard core fanatics and the biggest supporters of the coup first in case he was stopped prematurely, the people who ended up being spared from his wrath were the members of the clan who had the least involvement in the events, including a few of the young families, some of the elderly, and the children.

Apparently he was saving them for last if he ended up carrying out his massacre to its fullest. After what happened on that night, these people ended up being spared.

"_I guess we have Naruto to thank for that,"_ Hiruzen thought to himself while inhaling his pipe and removing it from his lips._ "If he hadn't been in the police station at the time, many more innocent people would've died."_

Naruto had been the wild card in this entire scenario. Who would've thought that a seven year old boy with such a seemingly poor reputation around the village could be a deciding factor in the Uchiha Clan's survival? Whether this was an action performed by the Gods or not was a mystery. However, what was abundantly clear was that the youngster had proven himself a surprisingly valuable member of the village's community. Many of the Uchiha owe their survival thanks in part to him, and it was due to his interference in the matter that the families of the clan had the chance to start anew, rebuild, and grow again- hopefully for the better.

But another matter had come up during the night. It was the issue concerning Naruto's predecessors- his parents. Now while it was perfectly normal for a child, particularly an orphan, to ask about their parents and who they were, Hiruzen wouldn't be able to tell the youngster about his due to their occupations and positions in the village.

Naruto's father was the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, and his mother was the former jinchuriki of the _Nine-Tailed Demon Fox_\- the Kyuubi. This was problematic for a number of reasons because not only was the former responsible for saving the people from the Kyuubi when it went on a rampage seven years ago, but when the fox escaped its original host, Naruto ended up becoming its newest one. In essence, what the blond wound up becoming was the carrier of one of the most powerful and dangerous creatures on the face of the planet, and he had absolutely no knowledge of it.

At least by the villager's understanding of the term "carrier".

All the adults in the village knew he was the new jinchuriki. The only reason he hadn't found out yet was because the Hokage had secretly made the decree that anyone who should tell Naruto he was the fox's host would suffer serious consequences. The people who were exempt from this rule were either members or the boy's family or people who were close to his family- including Hiruzen himself, Minato's mentor Jiraiya, and Kushina's best friend Mikoto- and even then the trio had made the agreement that they would inform the child when he has come of age, so that he could start learning to control the beast.

So in summary, to tell Naruto who his parents were would inevitably open up the conversation as to what'd happened to them, and why everything was as it was. But how Naruto would respond to this information and what he would do was beyond Hiruzen's knowledge, as it could result in him either accepting the news or taking it out on the rest of the village.

To illicit an extreme emotional response from the boy also ran the risk of setting the beast loose a second time. That was something that Hiruzen wanted to try to avoid.

However, since Naruto had brought it up, Hiruzen was deeply considering actually telling him about his family. The thought weighed heavily on his mind, as he continued to debate whether it was a good idea to tell Naruto everything he knew about his family or only the important bits. After all, the child didn't need to know about the Kyuubi, but if he figured it out by himself, which he seemed more than capable of doing, the Hokage wouldn't hesitate to explain the reasons.

But in considering all of this, Hiruzen was once again brought back to a problem that has been plaguing his thoughts since he first discovered this. Though seemingly insignificant on first glance, it was a subject that only he and a handful of other people were fully aware of.

"_Naruto doesn't have the Kyuubi inside of him," _the Third thought, at the same time looking across at the pictures of the Hokage lining the wall nearby. When his eyes landed on the Fourth, which was conveniently hidden behind the cupboard and out of sight, so much so that a shadow was cast over the blond man's face, the elder couldn't help but breathe a heavy sigh. _"Though I understand your reasoning for giving your son the chance to choose what he really wants to do with his life, I can't help but think there is a much deeper sense and meaning to what you have done."_ After all, Minato never did anything without good reason.

But such was the fickleness of life.

OOO

(Near midnight)

It was dark and cold, with the moon hanging high in the sky and the veil of night twinkling all around it. With the hour having ticked to its highest point and most of that side of the world having turned in, the streets were still and silent, and the atmosphere was completely peaceful. One could easily go out for a stroll without drawing a single gaze or stepping on a single toe. Perhaps they might even get away with a bit of mischief.

Rabble rousing and hellraising however was far from the mind of Naruto Uzumaki, who had chosen a rather secluded spot by the river beneath a large oak. With his backpack at his feet and hood pulled over, the boy leant against the solid tree's base with his arms folded and eyes closed. At the same time his ears remained ever perked and his senses on alert.

Listening to the faintest sounds as they crept and creaked around him, the child remained where he was, motionless. Having been waiting there for some time, the young delinquent had used the gap in his timetable to rest, relax, and meditate. Since he still had a lot to learn about the new taijutsu and its corresponding chakra branch, he felt that by productively using his time in this manner he'd be able to get ahead in his studying for the future.

It wasn't like he had much else to do. After ensuring that his apartment was all tided up and his landlord had been informed of his "absence" for the next couple of months- as he had done the first time during the second portion of his training- all Naruto had to do now was wait and see if the offer he'd extended to Rea and her cousins had managed to reel them in.

Though he was more than happy to go on this trip by himself, a part of him felt obligated to help the four girls who'd taken such an interest in him, and were also kind enough to come visit him while he'd been locked up. No other person had ever done that for him before. Acknowledged him in such a way. What's more, Naruto was unable to fight back against his desire to pay back their thoughtfulness by lending them his aid. Even if it was in the only capacity he knew.

He also reasoned that since the Uchiha were such a capable band of shinobi, having a couple of them on his side out there in the wilderness would be a huge help. His instincts told him that having Rea and her friends as allies would give him a real edge against the rest of the world. All they needed was the correct nurturing.

As Naruto's thoughts started to linger over what possibilities the future held for him, the blond heard a rustling nearby and glanced across silently. When he did, he saw the distinct outlines of Rea, Naomi, Imari and Yuno step into view.

Immediately on first glance, Naruto saw that all four of them were dressed in outdoor gear reflective of their individual characters, and that each of them had a backpack sitting over their shoulders. After sizing them up, he saw the curly haired leader of their band march towards him, her expression steeled and eyes narrowed.

Standing off of the tree, the blond nodded. "You guys ready?" When he saw all of them nod their heads once, Naruto then picked up his backpack and slung it over his shoulder. "Good. We'll head out via the dam's main outlet. I tested the path out yesterday to see whether the village's barrier would detect me if I strayed beyond the wall. It didn't." He then gestured for them to follow him. "Be sure to stick close to me and keep your chakra signatures low."

Doing as the blond requested, Rea and the others stuck right to his tail.

Getting through the river's exit in the wall was a bit of a chore. They had to avoid the guards patrolling the wall above them and get into its blind spot before any eyes could land on them. It was pretty much smooth sailing from there, as the youngsters travelled up the bank, waded through the water, and out of the village.

When the Konoha Barrier Team detected the tiny ping at the bottom of the radar, the floor manager measured its rating against previous anomalies and quickly assessed it to be just another piece of driftwood or another school of carp interfering with the wall again, and simply shrugged it off.

By the time the sun started to rise over the horizon many hours later, Naruto and his entourage were long gone.

OOO

(The next day)

Many, many miles away from _Konohagakure_, far out of reach of any governments or spheres of significant influence, a team of ninja were currently in the process of mopping up.

Situated in the centre of a ruined clearing, surrounded by thick evergreen forests and mountainous terrains, a band of approximately twenty four shinobi wearing Konoha colours and headbands, were quietly huddled around a series of large, black corpses lying charred and burnt inside a wide crater.

Bearing the wounds and marks of what'd most likely been a fierce battle, the winded but altogether fighting fit shinobi and kunoichi took a moment to catch their breaths and clear their heads. At the same time they held their defensive positions around the site, which only moments ago had been burning with the flames of a violent battle.

"That… was close," the gruff, haughty voice of Tsume Inuzuka spoke as she knelt beside one of the bludgeoned bodies at the edge of the fissure, along with her canine companion Kuromaru. Taking a deep breath, the woman then looked across at the Uchiha standing next to her. "What the hell are these things?"

Taking a closer look at the body lying before him, the male shinobi wearing ANBU plate shook his head and shrugged. "I don't know. But whatever they are, they're strong." That was putting it lightly.

The corpses lying before them, while battered and roasted, were not too far gone to still make an accurate description of them. Each of them stood at about seven feet tall and were completely naked, but their flesh had an almost stone, armour-like appearance to it. What's more, each of the beings bodies were hollowed out and, while they were active, had fire burning inside of their chests and heads, and were visible through the cracks and orifices of their faces. It was almost like these walking furnaces used these flames as a sort of fuel, allowing them to move and fight much like a human.

Of course their strength and aggressiveness was nothing like a person's. No. These things, whatever they were, fought more like wild animals and demons than anything with an intelligent disposition. This explained why the Konoha team sent out on this mission had such a tough time bringing them down- partly because of their builds and partly because of their combat styles.

After surveying the area for a few moments longer, a Sarutobi male shinobi standing at the edge of the perimeter turned his attention to Mikoto, who he could see was glaring off into the distance. "These beasts fought like they were protecting something. But there are no temples, shrines or castles anywhere near here." Approaching the woman and stopping just a few feet from her, the young man with the goatee shrugged. "Are we sure we're in the right place?"

"Yes," Mikoto answered with a stiff nod. "There's no doubt about it. These creatures belong to _her_. I'm sure of it."

The Sarutobi then glanced towards the ditch where the demonic bodies were lying. Taking note of the fact that each of them had large, buffalo-like horns growing out of their skulls, the shinobi shook his head and placed his hands on his hips. "Well, since all of us are out here, we may as well have a look around to see if we can find anything. If our target is anywhere in the vicinity or is out there hiding in the mountains, then there's bound to be a-" When he looked back to where the leader of their party was standing, the man jumped when he saw that she was gone. "Huh? Mikoto?"

The rest of the group there also became aware of the woman's disappearance, with Tsume quickly standing up and looking about in alarm.

"Mikoto? MIKOTO?!" the Inuzuka kunoichi shouted, at the same time the rest of their platoon started scanning the surrounding forest. Seeing and sensing no trace of the woman, the group quickly began to fall into a bit of a panic. "Shit. Where did she go?"

OOO

The answer to that question was only known to the kunoichi herself.

Almost seconds after answering her colleague's question, the woman had then turned on her heel to approach the centre of their battle site. It was in that instant the commander of the platoon and the strongest kunoichi in the Uchiha family suddenly found herself standing on a rocky plate of earth, surrounded by bonsai and cherry blossom trees, a couple of grey statues in the shape of kitsune, and a heavy grey fog that blocked out all view about five meters in front of her.

Startled at her sudden change in surroundings and locale, the raven haired woman in the ANBU uniform began searching the area. Her eyes traced and marked out every angle possible, at the same time the woman's senses were placed on high alert.

After an anxious forty five seconds had come and gone, in which Mikoto had wandered about several feet through the heavy fog, the woman then reached behind her for her pouch. That was until a deep giggle followed by a laugh quickly drew her attention to a space several meters away. The moment her gaze snapped in that direction, Mikoto saw the fog part and a large hot spring emerge from the wall of grey.

Its pool of water glistening in the faded light in the area, the Uchiha female followed the pool towards its far edge. There, sitting in the water, completely naked, was the pale, curvaceous and attractive form of dark haired woman. When the Uchiha's eyes traced up the woman's ample bosom and elegant, swan-like neck, she found herself staring into a fair face, framed by the fringe of her hair, a pair of two blue eyes, and a pair of white, flat horns protruding from the top of her head.

Back propped up against the smooth rocks and her right hand balancing a dish of sake above the still water of the bath, the tall woman with the voluptuous curves grinned coyly across at the stunned Mikoto. Knowing she had the kunoichi's full and undivided attention, the succubus swirled the fingers of her left hand in the water casually and spoke. "Did you get my message?"

Mikoto's first instinct was to activate her Sharingan. However, upon hearing the woman's soft, melodious words fill her ears and the question that was formed from them, the kunoichi cautiously lowered her guard and straightened up into a more respectable pose. "Yeah. Loud and clear." She then slowly started towards the pool of steamy water, her ears and other senses keeping locked on the wall of fog surrounding her.

There was no telling what other surprises lay in store for her in this place.

"Good," the mysterious woman with the horns chirped, before bringing her sake dish to her lips. "I noticed you brought a few friends along with you as well."

"Is that really such a big surprise? After the first time we met, I decided that it would be best to have some backup... just in case," Mikoto replied, stopping at the edge of the spring as she watched the woman drink from her mead. Forgetting herself for a few moments as she glared enviously down at the woman's rather amazing rack, which could definitely put Tsunade's own assets to shame, the Uchiha warrior frowned. "But I see it didn't matter either way."

"Hm. True," the blue-eyed woman replied cheekily, before then peering across at the woman with a sly smile. "Would you care to join me? A hot spring as big and nice as this simply can't be enjoyed by just one person. I believe having you as company would make this even more enjoyable." She emphasized that last part by running her tongue along her upper lip sensuously.

The sight of the woman's suggestive sign had Mikoto recoil a little and give the oni-woman a hard glare. "Thanks… but I think I'll pass."

"Are you sure? The water is really nice," the demoness continued, at the same time tantalizingly lifting her legs out of the water and crossing one over the other. The act of which caused droplets of water to cascade teasingly off of her skin and back into the pond. "Is there any way I could possibly... _tempt_ you into accepting my invitation?"

Mikoto took a steady breath as she looked back into the enchanting face of the demon that had brought her here, doing her best not to lose either her cool or her restraint. "Sorry, but there isn't enough gold, grass, sex, or crowns in the world that can get me to strip naked and hop in with you." No matter how undeniably sexy and attractive the woman was. "My answer is still no."

"Hm. Challenge accepted," the oni replied, at the same time casually twirling a finger in the corner fringe of her hime-style haircut. For several seconds she sat there, at the same time being stared at by the Uchiha woman whom she'd fought with over seven years ago. She completely ignored the fact that she was sitting in the bath, stark naked, with no weapons or tools to defend herself. She obviously didn't need them.

Sparing a momentary look around at their surroundings, Mikoto spoke. "Where exactly are we?"

The oni-female grinned. "Do you like it? I've got many more where this came from. Out of all of them though, the views of this one are simply spectacular."

"Views?" Mikoto repeated, not quite understanding what the woman was referring to. It was clear she wasn't back in the valley where her team had been scouting. That was obvious. So the only explanation she could give was that she must have been teleported somewhere to another part of the world against her will... and by the woman who was lounging in the spring in front of her no less.

But exactly where was beyond her.

Seeing as how the Uchiha kunoichi hadn't quite grasped her situation, the oni princess decided to put the woman's fears to rest and casually lifted her left hand towards the sky. When she pointed her finger into the heavens, a heavy gust suddenly arose and parted the clouds hanging above them. When the Uchiha woman looked to see what'd happened, her mouth dropped in disbelief when she saw, sitting in the sky high above them, was the unmistakable form of planet Earth floating in the vacuum of space.

Hell, she could even see the moon orbiting the world on the other side.

_"Impossible,"_ the kunoichi thought, realizing that they were currently floating in the void thousands of miles beyond the planet's thermosphere. The only thing that was sitting between them and certain death was whatever bubble of atmosphere the demon had erected around them.

"Beautiful. Isn't it?" the sensuous succubus asked, at the same time expressing a great deal of amusement at the look of abject horror slapped on Mikoto's mug.

"Y-Yeah," the Uchiha gulped.

"Space, matter and reality mean very little to me. When you have as many talents as _I_ do, one simply cannot help but show off a little. If only to please the ladies." As she continued to watch the bewitching young woman gaze up into their part of the cosmos, the demon decided to change topics. "Speaking of which, I knew you would come for me… sooner or later. After I sent my little oni soldiers out into the wild and had them raise a ruckus outside the mountain pass, it was only a matter of time before one of the 'Big Five' responded to the problem. As expected of your lover- Minato Namikaze- he had a special task force created in order to handle the situation. I'm guessing he made you its commander?"

"Uh-huh." Mikoto looked back at the woman, her gaze becoming stern. "You a soothsayer?"

"It matters little who or what I am," the woman replied, at the same time setting her dish of sake on the rocks next to her and refilling it from the small jug nearby. "Your presence here, _**I**_made it possible. What's more, you are alive and well today thanks only to my good graces, as are a number of other Uchiha who have remained uncorrupted by the Otsutsuki's cycle of hatred... and would've otherwise ended up slaughtered like cattle." Setting the flask down, the oni nodded, "As I'm sure you are aware, your oldest son, Itachi-"

"Yeah. I know," Mikoto snapped back, still not feeling completely comfortable with her current situation, but still managing to keep her cool. "What you told us back then after the battle... and the marks you left behind… pretty effective reminders."

"That _was_ their purpose," the princess answered, before looking off momentarily into the distance. "Incidentally, I find it quite funny how even the most rotten scoundrels have this inner compunction to repay 'debts of gratitude'." She then shrugged thoughtfully at the notion. "Humans, hybrids, dwarves, yokai, immortals, half breeds, demi-humans... all races. You really must explain that to me… one day." Lowering her hand to the rocks, the woman's expression then darkened. "As for the here and now… tell me, how did you manage with my minions?" Clearly she was referring to those black trolls Mikoto and the other Konoha ninja ended up disposing of.

Pondering over the question for a brief moment, Mikoto then began pacing a little around the pool. "You appeared out of nowhere, disappeared just as mysteriously, teleported me to a dimension directly opposite ours, parted the clouds with a wave of your finger... Lemme guess- you're a sorceress."

"Oh, please. No. I cannot stand spells," the oni woman dismissed immediately, at the same time kicking at the water with her toes playfully. "And chakra? Childish hocus-pocus. It's just not interesting."

It was then Mikoto had another look around at their surroundings. By this time, the mist had cleared up enough to reveal more of the garden they were standing in. Not only could she see more hot springs positioned around them, but also trees, bridges, and enormous temples standing proudly in the distance, forming the horizon. You could say she was in a whole other country on another planet, with a clearer than transparent view of the stars above. "Can you really control space? Or is this just some illusion?"

The naked woman chuckled, "What difference does it make?"

"A big one," Mikoto murmured, not at all amused.

Holding up her dish of sake again, the woman smiled. "Hmm. Let us say… space and time has always fascinated me, so I taught myself how best to use them. And since space is the most intimate of all existing dimensions in the universe, it was the first one I fell in love with." She then took another casual sip from the rim.

Stopping nearer to the water, the Uchiha woman then posed her next question. In retrospect, it was probably the most important. "So who are you, _really_?"

The woman grinned diffidently. "You already know my name. Shuten-doji of _Mount Ooe_-"

"But you weren't called that before you were sealed away, nor were you born of that mountain," Mikoto responded, sounding a bit more impatient this time as she took an assertive step onto the spring's rocky edge. Despite knowing she was in no position to negotiate or argue, she was boldly pushing her boundaries. "What are you?"

She wanted to know exactly who this woman was. She needed answers.

In looking at the kunoichi's face, the demoness smirked. "Do you really wish to know?"

Mikoto's frown deepened as she turned her head away slightly in anticipation. "Yes."

It was then Shuten's face became even darker than before. A menacing air fell over her that sent a cold chill shooting through to the Uchiha's very soul. It was the kind of look that made someone want to turn tale and run for the hills, even though a smile remained ever present on her lips. "No. Mikoto. _You don't_. This time I will spare your life… and _not_ grant your wish." She then extended her arms outwards, gesturing to her person in a revealing manner. "All who have learned my true name are now either dead… or have met an even worse fate."

At this point Mikoto wisely chose to back off, as she knew she wasn't going to be getting a straight answer… or any answer for that matter.

Of course, not being one to disappoint, Shuten then gave the now unnerved woman a courteous nod. "If it makes you feel any better, I am not your enemy. I made that abundantly clear to you when you and your friends attacked me the moment I stepped out of my prison." She then held a hand out to her grandly. "In brief, the most straightforward answer I can give you, is that I am a woman who is fascinated in _true_ tales of _true_ human lives… which I like to meddle in from time to time. To watch a single life turn about the fates and destinies of countless others around them… that's true power… true sorrow… true joy. After all, I did the same thing for you and your ilk." Lowering her hand back into the water, the horned female from another world then tilted her head. "And thus, this brings me to the reason why I called you here."

Mikoto then steeled herself, as she prepared herself for what the demoness had to say to her.

"Your people have effectively avoided mass genocide and have been set on the path to redemption. With the change in your world's timeline, the Otsutsuki family and the cult Kara have no longer become a threat. However, thanks to this sudden alteration in history, you have opened up the possibility to an even worse future," Shuten informed, watching as her news caused Mikoto's expression to transform into one of fear and uncertainty. "Wraiths from another world have come knocking on your door… ones far more dangerous than the Otsutsuki parasites looming over the horizon. What's more, a dragon has been awakened within your midst- a monster who will devour everyone around him and crush all other demons in his path who threaten his rule."

The kunoichi tilted her head. "Who is this person?"

"A child you know all too well," Shuten replied, her eyes twinkling with excitement as the pattern inside them suddenly changed. What were previously pure blue irises suddenly morphed into black rings, as the demoness suddenly activated a pair of _Rinnegan_. "The son of the man you secretly loved… with whiskers on his cheeks, the sun in his hair, and fire in his heart."

It didn't take long for Mikoto to realize who the woman was talking about. The realization caused her chest to tighten and her eyes to well with dismay.

"Naruto."

**THE END…**

* * *

**Author's Note:** If anyone couldn't tell, I was setting up Shuten Doji- a Japanese demon/ogre of mythology and history, as one of the main villains. I designed her off of the character from Fate/Grand Order, as well as Gaunter O'Dimm from the Witcher III. If you couldn't tell by the lines of dialogue, I absolutely love that game. I can't stop playing it, lol.

Well, you guys don't have to worry about her anymore. Shuten Doji was busted as a character, so I chose to scrub this idea in the fic and rewrite it.

No one needs to point it out. I'm already well aware of all the areas where this fic failed, so no need to give me grief about it in the reviews. The only reason I resubmitted this story was because of Chapter 3. That one was my favourite to write, lol.


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